A Reason to Smile
by Evoli321
Summary: AU: Brittany and Santana meet during an exhausting shopping tour and instantly get along perfectly. But will it be the only chance to get to know each other?
1. Out of the blue

A/N: This is my very first fan fiction and English is not my first language, so please be nice :)

I don't think that I would post this story right now, if Adi hadn't been such an awesome beta. She's the best, so make sure to check out her stories, if you haven't already: nayahasmyheart.

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any of the characters, even if I probably love two of them more than the writers do.

She didn't even know why she was doing this right now. At first she wasn't even sure about attending the wedding, but now Santana spent the last hours wandering through the biggest mall in town to find a new dress for her brother's happy day. It obviously wasn't working, because she was still searching. Santana hated shopping more than any other woman on this planet. There was just no way that she would be pleased with her shopping conditions. She had really postponed it for long enough, though, and now she finally had to face the dreaded task.

She held this unbelievably ugly dress in her hands (with the most lace she had ever seen). Its color was something between green, yellow, and brown. In one word: It was hideous.

"Excuse me? " a voice behind her asked. Santana turned around to see if it is one of those sales assistants again, who always try to convince you to buy the worst dress that they have. To her surprise, it wasn't one of those old women with excessive make-up and perfume. It was this gorgeous woman who was probably in her mid-twenties. She had blonde hair, which fell down in waves and highlighted her ocean-blue eyes. She was wearing jeans and a simple white top with a pinkish jacket. But she looked extremely stressed out. Her cheeks and ears had a cute shade of red and several blouses and dresses hung over her arm. She had this forced smile on her face and sounded quite annoyed. "Could you help me for a second?"

"Sure," Santana replied hesitantly. She wasn't entirely sure what the woman wanted, but didn't want to sound rude.

"I'm searching for this dress…" Brittany pointed at a yellow dress over her arm, "but I need it in my size. There are only sizes from 10 upwards."

"I'm sorry, but I don't work here," Santana smiled apologetically. She somewhat pitied the woman before her.

The blonde blushed. "Oh, my God, I feel so stupid for asking you. I'm just really stressed out. The sale assistants are nowhere to be found." She blushed in an even deeper shade of red and it was the most beautiful sight that Santana had seen all day. "Sorry again."

"It's no big deal," she shrugged. "Yeah, it's like they're hiding in the dressing rooms or something." And then she smiled at her and Santana couldn't help but return it. She was so breathtakingly beautiful.

"I know, right? I hate it…" Santana saw the woman's eyes moving down her body. Was she checking her out? She couldn't believe that the woman wasn't even subtle enough to wait for a moment until Santana looked in the other direction. But then she realized that the blonde's eyes were stopped at that ugly dress that Santana was still holding. "Wow. That's a very pretty dress," she stated sarcastically.

"Oh, no," Santana blurted out. "That's not my dress. I wasn't going to buy it. It's just…ugly." She began to stutter and tried to hang it back on the rack, but failed miserably, which caused the blonde to laugh delightedly.

"It's okay. I didn't think that you were going to buy it. Even if you could make this thing look good." She smirked at her and winked mischievously. Santana nearly fainted when she realized that she indeed was flirting with her. She started fidgeting with her hands. The woman giggled and outstretched her arm. "I'm Brittany, by the way. Nice to meet you." Santana took Brittany's hand in hers.

"Santana," she stated simply. "It's nice to meet you, too." She beamed at her. "So Brittany…" she slowly loosened the grip on Brittany's hand. "You still need some help finding something to wear? Because I know I do."

*B*S*

"_Lucy, Dana, hurry up," Brittany said with a slightly annoyed tone in her voice. She was standing at the door that led to the locker room. She had already locked most of the doors, turned off the lights, and put all of the props back in their appropriate places. The dancing class ended fifteen minutes ago and the two young girls were still changing. Well, more giggling than changing, from what Brittany could hear. "Your moms are waiting for you." _

"_Coming," the girls answered simultaneously and Brittany could hear the rustling of their bags. Their two moms didn't seem to mind, however, because they stood outside in the sun, deep in conversation. She looked at her phone to check the time. 4:50. She was supposed to meet Isabella in about ten minutes. She quickly texted her, apologizing because she would probably be late._

_The five-year-old blondes came running out of the room towards the door, where their friendly mothers greeted them with a hug."Bye, Miss P," they said as they looked over their shoulders._

"_Bye, see you next Wednesday," she waved. The two kind older women waved back before they all left together. Brittany let out a sigh of relief and felt her phone vibrating in her hand. Isabella told her that it was no problem, asked how long it would take her to come and if she should already order something. _

_She quickly responded: Yeah, sure. I'm on my way now. I guess I'll be there in about 15 minutes tops. _

_She hit the send button, turned off the lights in the remaining rooms, and locked the front door of the youth center. _

_*B*S*_

_When she entered the little coffee shop near the mall, her eyes searched for Isabella. She was sitting in the back in a small booth. She quickly made her way to her and greeted her with a hug. She sat down in front of her best friend. "Sorry, Bella. I couldn't make it earlier. It's always the same kids who take hours to get dressed," she said as a sigh escaped her lips. _

"_It's no problem, really. You really rushed, didn't you? You look exhausted," she chuckled. At that moment, Brittany realized that she felt really sweaty. She never had time to take a shower after a lesson. And the summer sun didn't help either. She took the back of her hand to her forehead and wiped some dampness away. _

"_Oh, God. I normally drive home after dancing to shower but now you called and I totally forgot." She grabbed her bag and started to stand up. "I'll be right back. I'm going to go freshen up a bit." Isabella nodded when she held back some laughter. Brittany has always been like this. She always cared more about her friends than about herself. You could trust her and she would never leave you hanging when you needed her. She was an amazing friend. _

_After a couple of minutes, Brittany returned, ready to eat her cake. It was conveniently placed on the table when she came back. She immediately grabbed her fork and began to eat her cheesecake in large bites. Isabella could only shake her head at her. "So why did you call me?" Brittany inquired and smiled at Isabella once she had swallowed a mouthful of cake._

"_I have to tell you something." Isabella set down her cup and looked up. _

_Brittany could see her green eyes, which complimented her black hair. She looked happy. She started fidgeting with her hands and her eyes shined brightly. "Come on. Tell me already." Brittany became excited, too. She knew that something good had happen in the last few days. "Are you pregnant?" Brittany randomly guessed, which caused Isabella to look up, shocked. She instantly shook her head no._

"_No, I'm not. But something happened yesterday." She took a sip of her coffee. The blonde shot her a warning glare as she grew impatient and Isabella finally continued. "Alright. So Manuel and I took our dog Lilly to a walk yesterday. And when we reached the little pond, he led me to a bench. We sat down and Lilly started running around, chasing ducks." Brittany frowned a little at this, but didn't want to interrupt. "He took my hand in his own and dropped down on one knee." Brittany let out a gasp and the dorkiest grin appeared on her face. She gestured for Isabella to continue. "So he dropped down and told me how much he loves me and that the years that we spent together were the best of his life. And then he told me that he wants to spend the rest of his life with me and asked me to become his wife." Isabella smiled brightly. _

"_Oh, my God…that is so romantic." Brittany beamed joyously and rested her head on her propped up hands."What did you answer?" It was kind of an unnecessary question because she knew how much Isabella wanted Manuel to propose to her._

"_I said yes, of course," she immediately responded and looked like it was the only thing that could have happened. Yeah, it kind of was, Brittany admitted to herself. "But that was not the only romantic thing. He called Lilly, and on her collar was this little velvet box with the most beautiful ring that I have ever seen." She showed her engagement ring to Brittany, who inspected it carefully._

"_It's so pretty," she grazed an awed finger over the huge diamond in the middle. "He must have spent a fortune on that."_

"_Yeah, I guess so... But I also have a question for you." Brittany looked up with her coffee in her hand and Isabella continued, "You've been my best friend for 5 years and we went through so many things together. So I want you to be my maid of honor. What do you say?" She looked at Brittany with anticipation. Brittany didn't even have to think twice about it._

_She nodded furiously. "Yes, of course." She stood up and hugged her best friend from the side. "Thank you." _

"_You're welcome." Isabella laid her head on top of Brittany's and they both stayed there for while. Brittany broke the silence first._

"_So when's the big day?" _

"_In three months. August 5__th__," Isabella replied coyly. Brittany's eyes nearly bulged out._

"_So soon? I can't plan a wedding in such little time." She grabbed her bag and rummaged through it to find her organizer. She flipped through the pages and nearly ripped them out until she found the date that she was searching for._

"_Whoa…easy there, Brittany. We already have a location. My father booked at it yesterday and Manuel's mom and my mom will help us, too. You won't have to plan so much. I know that you have a lot of work and I'm not going to assign to you more than you can handle," Isabella assured her. When Brittany's pulse slowed down a bit, she let out a relieved sigh. "Oh, I nearly forgot…" Isabella remembered while Brittany put the organizer back into her purse after writing down the date. "I will ask the girls tonight to be my bridesmaids…and Manuel and I agreed on a less traditional wedding, so you're all free to choose your own dresses. We won't set limits to all of your creativity." Brittany laughed lightly at Isabella's exaggerated arm motion. _

"_That sounds great. And I will help as much as I can. Just call me."_

"_I will, Brittany," she squeezed her hand on the table. _

_They finished their coffee and cakes, already brainstorming some ideas for the important day coming up. Twenty minutes later, they climbed out off the booth and stood up. "I've got to go now. I'm meeting the girls later," Isabella said apologetically. "You wanna join?" _

_Brittany would have loved to spend a night out with her friends but she guessed that fun wasn't something on her schedule for the weekend. "No, sorry. I have to work at the club tonight. But you guys could come visit me," Brittany suggested as she grabbed her bag from the seat. _

"_Sure. I'll ask the others later." Isabella smiled and paid for their food. They stepped out into the hot evening sun, which was warming up the entire city. _

"_I'm really happy for you," Brittany whispered in Isabella's ears as they hugged. They broke apart, waved goodbye and walked away in two different directions. _

*B*S*

"So Santana, what are you searching for? " Brittany asked out of curiosity after a few seconds. She didn't want there to be an awkward silence. And she didn't want Santana to think that she's boring. She was relieved that she found someone to help her. Yeah, Brittany was thankful for any help that she could find.

"I need a cocktail dress…" Santana bit her lip and turned her head towards the back of the store, where most of the dresses were hung. They dangled on the racks and were in any possible color and shape that you could think of. The two women faced a tough and tedious task. "But it shouldn't be too striking and colorful…" Santana added when her eyes landed on the exotic and multicolored clothes.

"Why?" Brittany blurted out. She didn't even know why she asked her that now, but there was no going back. Santana shifted her gaze back to Brittany, apparently not know what she meant. "I mean…you—you could wear anything… you know, so why a dress without colors?" _A dress without colors? Really Brittany?_ She had already made a fool of herself twice within what seemed like less than a minute. She wondered immediately why Santana hadn't left by now. Brittany was acting like a total creep.

"Umm…thanks, I guess," Santana replied hesitantly with a timid smile. Brittany felt so stupid right now. Normally she could speak to people without embarrassing herself but now she was tripping over her words in a way that made her want to hide in shame behind one of those rummaged tables. "I don't want to draw that much attention to myself. So classic will probably be better," she told Brittany as she fixed the strap of her purse on her shoulder.

"Yeah," Brittany nodded considerately even if she didn't get the brunette's insecurity. She eventually had to drop the topic. But she _had_ to admit that Santana would look great in one of those colorful dresses, preferably a red one. Yes, red would be a perfect choice for her beautiful skin and dark locks…

She imagined Santana's hair blowing freely in the wind… Brittany let her fantasy go wild and suddenly thought about Santana on the back of a unicorn in front of a sunset at the beach in a really tight dress… Brittany was running towards her, grabbing her by the waist and laying her down on the sand… Hovering above her, faces just inches apart…

Santana cleared her throat loudly, causing Brittany to snap her attention back to the brunette. She had no idea what Santana was doing to her. She felt her cheeks heating up slowly. Why was she behaving so awkwardly around her? Why did she even have thoughts that included unicorns?

Santana could sense the blonde's uneasiness and, out of impulse, grabbed her wrist. Brittany was startled at the contact, but couldn't even think twice about it as Santana yanked her to the back of the store. "Let's start. I want to get out of here in at least the next few hours." Brittany could hear her giggle as she spoke.

"Sure," her hoarse voice came out as a whisper. But when Santana shifted her head back and smiled, she knew that she heard her hushed whisper. She returned it happily and followed Santana to the dresses with Santana's fingers still grasping onto her wrist. She had a strange feeling that Santana needed her help just as much as she did.


	2. The way she looks at me

**A/N: Thank you so much for your reviews and adding to alerts/favorites. It really makes my day. :) Hope you all like the next chapter. And I would love to hear what you think about it or the story in general.**

* * *

><p>"Santana?" Brittany opened the curtain of her dressing room slightly to look for Santana. She had been in there for what felt like an eternity. She lost count on how many dresses they tried on already. When her eyes found the gorgeous woman that she had been looking for, near the clearance table, she took the time to look at her intensely. She was wearing tight black leggings and a loosely fitting grey sweater with some university name on the front. Her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail. To Brittany's great pleasure, Santana was offering a great view of her tanned neck and the beautiful features of her face. Her head was slightly cocked to the left and her plump upper lip was caught between her teeth. She looked indecisive as she held a couple of dresses in front of her to get a better view, but most of them she hung aside again. About two or three dresses were tugged under her arm.<p>

Santana had probably not heard her, so Brittany took the time to let her eyes wander a bit more south over her entire body. She was in really good shape. Everything was flawless. Brittany noticed a change in her position and looked back to her face. Fuck. She totally caught her leering. But instead of looking away Brittany smirked at her. Santana looked away bashfully and started visibly blushing.

"Santana?" She waited until the brunette shifted her gaze away from the floor and had recomposed herself. "Have you found something nice?" Their eyes locked again as Santana walked toward the dressing room with the new dresses in her hand. Her hips swayed from side to side, which made Brittany slightly nervous.

"Yeah, I did." Santana looked to the dresses and tried to pick a certain one of them. "Would you like a blue one? I think this color will look great on you." She finally untangled the dress and held in up to show it. It was a light blue, fitted waist cocktail dress. It was knee-length and fell in soft waves. "It's made of silk," Santana said somewhat anxiously. "But it's not really expensive," she quickly added as she sucked her upper lip into her mouth nervously. She didn't know about Brittany's taste in cocktail dresses yet. She had just met Brittany an hour ago and she had no idea what she liked.

A huge smile formed on Brittany's face. "It's beautiful. I can't wait to try it on," Brittany told her happily and clapped her hands enthusiastically. Santana could practically feel the load taken off of her chest. This was the first time that she suggested a dress for her. Before that, they had only picked the clothes for themselves. Brittany stretched her arm through the curtain as Santana handed it to her.

"I will try some dresses on, too," Santana said. Brittany nodded when Santana stepped into the dressing room next to hers and closed the curtain behind her. Santana chose a simple, cream-colored, strapless cocktail dress. It was also knee-length. She threw her sweater on the chair, took her Nike's off and stepped out of her leggings. Then she took the dress off of the hanger and tried it on. The satin felt cold on her skin and she shivered a bit. She turned to the mirror to take a look. The material fitted perfectly around her body and hugged it in all the right places. The only problem was that she needed to find a bra that would be hidden by the dress.

Then she thought about how Brittany might look in her dress. She felt ridiculously attracted to her even though they had just met an hour ago. She couldn't stop thinking about her beautiful eyes, her long legs and abs that were faintly visible through her white top earlier. She couldn't wait to see that dress on Brittany. She opened the curtain and stepped outside of the dressing room to check the place for the blonde. Unfortunately, she wasn't there yet.

"Brittany? Are you ready?" she asked when she moved slowly towards Brittany's curtain.

"No. "Santana could make out the stressed out voice from earlier again. "I have a question. Would you help me to close the zipper on my dress? I can't reach it." She sounded exhausted and let out a sign.

"Sure," her voice wavered a bit and she felt her heartbeat quicken at the thought of Brittany and her together in the little dressing room. Not that she was complaining or anything. This could easily be a scene in a romantic-comedy, Santana thought to herself. Her hands gripped the curtain and opened it to step inside. She was greeted with the best view that she had seen all day. Brittany's back was directed at her and the zipper of her dress was all the way down so that Santana could see her entire back plus the top of her thong. Santana had to suppress a gasp when she saw the clasp of Brittany's matching black lace bra, which was also visible. Her eyes were fixed on her back and she didn't think that she could move right now. When Brittany turned around, she had that smirk from earlier on her face.

"Could you maybe close the curtain behind you, instead of staring?" she asked with a laugh. Santana was ripped out of her state of dreaming. She shook her head to get the naughty thought out of her mind and quickly took one step forward as she yanked the curtain close. They both realized how little the dressing room really was when it was instantly way hotter than a few seconds ago.

"So, Santana…will you help me or not? Because I can't hold the dress up and close it behind me at the same time." She turned around again, her back at full display.

"Of…of course," Santana took one small step closer (if that was even possible). Her hands were shaking noticeably when she took the small zipper between two fingers. She carefully tried to zip it up, but it kept getting stuck. She grazed Brittany's soft skin with her hand a few times, which caused Brittany's skin to form goose bumps where Santana had touched her. Santana smiled to herself when she noticed the effect that she had on her.

"Thanks," Brittany sounded shy, which only caused Santana's grin to widen. Brittany turned around to look at herself in the mirror. Her hands found their way down her blue dress to smooth the visible wrinkles on the silk fabric.

"It's beautiful," Santana blurted out. Great. Now she couldn't even kept her private thoughts hidden in her mind. Brittany smiled shyly at her as she tilted her head to look Santana in the eyes. Then her eyes wandered down Santana's body to inspect Santana's dress.

"Yours is really pretty, too. It's totally your color and it fits your skin…and your body." Normally Santana hated compliments. They always sounded so fake and not serious. But she actually believed Brittany for some reason. Probably because the blonde had no intention to lie.

"But there is something that I would change." Santana didn't know what Brittany meant, but when Brittany's hands found their way towards Santana's face, she didn't really care anymore. Brittany carefully pulled Santana's hair tie out and let her hair fall freely around her shoulders. Brittany's hands combed slowly through the brunette's locks to loosen them more. Santana was gorgeous; her hair framed her beautiful face, which immediately seemed more relaxed. Her eyes were closed and all of the tension was gone.

When Brittany pulled her hands away, Santana already missed the touch of the soft fingers in her hair and the smell of her perfume. It was so much more intense when Brittany was standing directly in front of her. Santana was pretty sure that this is what a sea of flowers in the mountains smelled like. It was intoxicating.

"Much better." Brittany winked and smiled a little at her work. She took a step back to look at the total work of art. It gave them both some time to recollect themselves. Santana was pretty sure that she didn't take a breath for way too much time and breathed in the long awaited oxygen. "Perfect." Both women began to blush at Brittany's statement.

They stood there for a bit, just taking in each other's appearances. The tension was nearly unbearable. But Santana finally broke the silence.

"So…" Brittany winced slightly at the suddenly loud voice, which rang through the little dressing room. "I have to look for some undergarments for that dress because I can't wear it like that." Santana let out a breathy, awkward laugh and took the strap of her bra between her fingers to prove her point.

"Alright, we should probably search here and if we don't find the right ones we can still go somewhere else," Brittany answered joyfully. Santana normally didn't have the nerve to visit thousands of different stores, but today, with Brittany by her side, she didn't even care about that.

"Okay. And the sooner we finish the faster can we grab some food." Santana didn't even realize that she just asked Brittany out for a date. Well, kind of. She had no intention to ask, but now when she thought about it, this wasn't the worst idea that she ever had.

"Sure, I'm starving. You have no idea how long I've been looking for the right dress." Santana was relieved because Brittany didn't even take notice of her offer.

"Oh, believe me, I do." They both laughed and left the dressing room to make their way to the lingerie department.

*B*S*

"Oh… that's…I, I don't know what to say…" Brittany stuttered as Santana opened the curtain to reveal her outfit once again, but now she was wearing the dress with a strapless bra. Her cleavage looked huge and nearly jumped out of the tight dress. Brittany started to blush and her hands began to sweat. She was embarrassed for staring for so long, but she couldn't tear her eyes away.

"Don't you like it?" Santana asked innocently with a tilt of her head. She totally noticed Brittany staring at her. And she wanted to make Brittany blush even more, because it was probably the hottest sight ever. And she also wanted to play that game Brittany was playing. She caught Brittany checking her out three times within one hour and they were certainly not the innocent kind of eyes.

"God, no!" Brittany nearly shouted. Some of the customers shot them curious, but also confused looks, which Brittany replied to with an embarrassed laugh. She turned her gaze back to Santana. "It looks really great," she answered quickly, smiling at her and blue eyes locked with brown. "You look great," she stated honestly, which caused Santana's smile to widen even more.

* * *

><p><strong>I know that this chapter was kind of short, but the next ones are going to be longer, I promise. :) <strong>


	3. All this beauty

"Let's get some coffee. I think we deserve it," Brittany said when she put her money back in her purse and grabbed the shopping bag that contained her newly acquired dress. Santana stood near the exit and waited for her with her phone in her hand.

"Sounds good," she responded as she tore her eyes away from her phone. They started walking in silence until they passed a little café outside the mall. "How about that one over there?" Santana pointed at the cozy coffee shop and looked at Brittany expectantly.

"Sure, I like it there. Their cakes are really good." They took a seat opposite from each other outside at a little table on which sat a vase that contained a single flower. They leaned their bags against it, picked up the menu and started skimming through the various choices. But Brittany didn't really notice what she was reading, because she caught several glimpses of the beautiful woman in front of her. It was so cute how she pulled her bottom lip between her lips. Her lips were so plump and looked so soft. Brittany felt the sudden urge to stand up and take Santana's head in her hands. She wanted to feel her lips crashing into hers and…

Santana looked up from her menu and recognized the sudden change in Brittany's eyes. They were much darker, but she couldn't really put it into words. When Brittany snapped out of her daydream with wide eyes, her face nearly changed into the color of a tomato. She held her menu in front of her face and cursed. Santana started laughing and pulled the menu down to look at her. "Brittany? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, sure. Everything's fine," she quickly answered and suddenly the grey pavement was way more interesting than Santana's face. "It's just a bit hot here, don't you think?"

Santana knew that she wanted to change the topic, but she wouldn't let it slide so easily. "All of a sudden, hm? I seemed that you were thinking about something. Willing to share?" Santana smirked knowingly at her and rested her head on her hands as she leaned forward. The table wasn't really big so her face was not so far away from Brittany's. Their eyes locked again and Brittany couldn't help but get lost in Santana's beautiful chocolate brown eyes. But then she remembered that Santana was waiting for her answer and she seriously had no idea what to tell her. She tore her gaze away and caught a glimpse of the waitress in the corner of her eye. The young girl quickly made her way to their table and held a little note pad and a pen in her hands. Brittany let out a relieved sigh, shifted in her seat, and sat upright.

"What can I get you two?" The young asked cheerfully. She shifted her glance between the two women at the table and smiled brightly.

"A coffee and a piece of chocolate cake for me, please." Brittany looked back to Santana with a smirk, because she recognized the disappointed expression on her face. From what Brittany could tell, Santana really wanted to know what was going through her mind, but she would never find out. Ever.

"Can I get a piece of strawberry cake and a cappuccino please?" she asked the waitress in a friendly tone.

"Sure." She scribbled their orders on her note pad and quickly made her way inside the café.

"So Santana, why do you need a dress? Any special occasion?" Brittany asked, interested.

Noticing that Brittany didn't want to talk about her previous hot flashes, Santana dropped the topic. "Actually I needed it for my brother's wedding. And I just found out yesterday that he wants me to sing to their first dance. So I thought I couldn't show up in baggy clothes. And, voila, here I am." Brittany laughed lightly at her answer.

"That's so cute of your brother to let you sing during his wedding. I bet you're really good. Do you sing professionally?" Brittany asked, earnestly interested.

"Oh, no." Santana let out a breathy laugh at the assumption. "No, I just finished studying this year and I got a job as an estate agent," she answered proudly. She really worked her ass off the last few years and finally all of her work paid off.

"Wow. You must have studied hard for that."

"Yeah, I did," Santana's smile grew. In the last months, nobody really noticed, except her best friend, Mercedes, what Santana had achieved and she was happy that someone, who she met just one and a half hour ago, sensed her hard work and was impressed by it.

Their waitress returned back to their table and placed the coffees in front of them. With an enthusiastic, "There you go," she put the plates with the cakes beside the coffee. "Enjoy your cake!"

Both women replied with a friendly, "Thanks," and continued their conversation.

"So, Brittany, what do you do for work?" Santana asked after she took a sip of her hot coffee.

"Oh, I'm doing many different things. At the moment I'm working at a club as a waitress. It's not perfect but it's enough money to pay the rent and to live from. In my spare time, I teach kids to dance hip hop at a youth center. It is voluntary work, but I have so much fun doing it, so the money doesn't really matter to me," she told her. Santana watched Brittany's eyes lit up by talking about her work.

"That's impressive. I think it's great when people like you do such work. Because I know I couldn't do it," Santana replied honestly. Brittany had the biggest smile on her face by now.

"Thanks. I think you would be good with the kids, too. You could teach some of them to sing." Brittany looked like she had a sudden inspiration. "Julie likes to sing. Maybe we should ask her to…"

"Woah, Brittany…wait a second. I'm not really good with kids and I'm super busy with my job right now, so I don't think it's a good idea." She flashed Brittany an apologizing smile. "Sorry."

"Oh okay." She looked a bit disappointed and she lowered her gaze. Santana couldn't stand to see the woman in front of her so sad, so she stretched her arm a bit to take Brittany's hand in hers.

"Hey," Santana said softly as she rubbed circles on the back of her hand. Brittany immediately looked surprised at her and let a smile form on her face. "Sadly I have no time to teach something, but I would love to watch you and your kids dance sometime." Brittany's smile grew more and she nodded her head. "But only if you want me to. And if I'm not wasting your time." Brittany shook her head no instantly.

"No. I would love that. The kids would be so happy to show their dance to someone other than their parents."

"Great. So it's settled then." Both women smiled at each other. Suddenly Santana realized that she still held Brittany's hand and now it seemed a bit inappropriate. So she took her hand back to her fork and continued eating her strawberry cake.

Brittany did the same. "Can I eat that strawberry? Or do you want it? You can also try some chocolate cake," Brittany asked hesitantly.

"Sure. Go ahead." Brittany took the strawberry at the edge of the plate dipped it in some whipped cream and brought it to her mouth. Her lips closed seductively – in Santana's line of view, of course– around the fruit as she took a bite. A tiny bit of juice leaked out and dripped down her chin. Brittany laughed and tried to stop it from falling as she tilted her head back. But Santana only sat there, mouth slightly agape and kind of turned on by the sight. All of the sudden she felt embarrassed to have really dirty thoughts about Brittany right now, because…well, she only ate a strawberry.

"Santana? Are you okay?" A concerned voice asked when she was brought back to reality. She felt her face flushing. "It's hot outside, isn't it, Santana?" She asked with her famous knowingly smirk from earlier. She totally did that on purpose. Brittany returned back to her cake smiling. After the last bite Brittany cleaned her fork with her tongue and closed the lips around it without breaking eye contact. Brittany noticed –still with her smirk plastered on her face– when Santana unconsciously licked her perfectly shaped lips. Why was Brittany doing that to her?

*B*S*

An animated conversation, exchanged numbers, and some staring contests later, Brittany asked the slightly hyperactive waitress to bring the bill. When she came back to their table, they were already searching for their money.

"Hi. I hope you and your girlfriend enjoyed the food," she told Brittany with a huge smile. Both of them looked like deer caught in the headlights. Awkward silence fell over the three women. But then brown eyes met blue, and they both burst out laughing. The waitress only joined in confused, not really knowing what she was laughing at. That only caused the women to laugh louder; a few tears escaped their eyes and their stomachs began to hurt.

When the laughter died down, Santana started to wipe her tears away. "No. We're not a couple…" she explained the waitress with a little chuckle. "We just met about two hours ago."

Now the poor girl started to understand what just happened. A blush crept over her face and she looked away, ashamed. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry about that – it was just the way you acted…"

The two women shared a curious look. "What did we do, though?" Brittany asked with a smile. She looked back to the waitress.

"Well, it was just the way you... I can't really explain. Just how you looked at each other or the way you held her hand." She looked over to Santana apologizing. "Oh, I'm so sorry about that."

"It's no problem, really. Don't worry about it. So what do we owe you?"

"Oh, you're not going to pay for that. It's on the house. I embarrassed you and I'm really sorry about that. You don't have to pay." She waved them off and nodded her head for emphasizing.

"Are you sure? It's no problem. We can pay." Brittany assured her and grabbed onto her purse.

"No. I insist." She turned a bit towards the other tables and looked over her shoulder. "Have a great day, you two." She added with a smile and returned inside.

"Well…" Brittany started. "That was random." They laughed lightly, grabbed their bags from underneath the table, and left the mall behind. On their way to the parking lot Santana's phone buzzed in her pocket.

"Excuse me, but I have to take this," she told Brittany when she saw her best friend's name at the screen.

"Go ahead." Brittany looked up as she searched for her car keys in her purse.

"Hello?" Santana asked friendly.

"Hey San. How is it going? " Mercedes and Santana met in college. They shared a room in the dorm and quickly became friends. Now Santana was working at the same firm as Mercedes's boyfriend Sam. He was really nice and helped her to get along with everything.

"Hey, pretty good. Guess what? ... I found a dress," she told her proudly.

"No way. How did that happen? Praise the lord." Mercedes laughed and Santana quickly joined. Brittany shot a curious glance in her direction and quirked an eyebrow.

"Actually, I had really good help." She winked at Brittany quickly, who was smiling shyly at the ground and fidgeting with her keys. They stopped walking and came to halt next to a small grey Fiat. It was probably Brittany's. It suited her pretty well.

"Really? Tell me about her." Mercedes had noticed her best friend's flirty voice, which probably meant a girl's presents. She was paying attention now and was most likely leaning back into her couch already. "I want to know everything that happened today, Santana. Now."

"Sorry, Cedes, but I have to go. I'll call as soon as I'm home, okay?" She seriously did not feel like explaining everything to her right now. Especially when Brittany was still standing beside her.

"You better do, girl. See you." Mercedes sounded a bit annoyed, but that didn't really matter to her at that moment. What mattered was Brittany standing there, her eyes expectantly locked with hers and the corners of her lips slightly curled up. She was just so beautiful.

"Yeah, bye," she ended the call and put her phone back into the pocket of her sweater. "So…" she wanted to break the silence that fell upon them but didn't know what to say to her. She wanted to tell her that she looked beautiful and that she had such a great day. Probably the best in a long time. She wanted to ask her out on a date, to hold her, to kiss her, even if they just met a few hours ago. In Santana's mind it seemed right, appropriate. But what if Brittany didn't feel the same? What if Santana was just a pleasant surprise who helped her to find a dress? She was already thinking too much. She always did that. And now she was standing there like a total idiot.

But before she could think about the right things to say, Brittany wrapped her arms around her. Santana immediately let her bags fall to the ground, her hands found their way to Brittany's back and squeezed lightly. She felt so soft and warm and nice. She never wanted to let her go. "I would love to see you again." She whispered in her right ear, which caused Santana to shiver involuntarily. Brittany noticed and smiled against her shoulder. When they pulled apart both of them beamed at each other.

"You will, Brittany. I had a great day. Shopping with you is…so much more fun than going alone," she told her genuinely.

"Well, you can call me anytime you want." She added a wink, which felt like the hundredth that day.

"I definitely will." They both smiled as Santana picked up her bags. "See you soon, Brittany." She started towards her car.

"Take care," Brittany said softly.

Santana turned her head back to the pretty blonde once again and looked over her shoulder when she closed her car door.

* * *

><p><strong>So… let me know what you think. ;) It feels great to know that people actually take time to read my story.<strong>

**And a special thanks to Adi who is my awesome beta. You're really great. :)**


	4. I already miss you

Santana turned her keys in the keyhole, and the door opened to reveal her small apartment. It was not exactly what you wish for, but, under the given circumstances, it was everything she could afford. She placed the jingly keys in a bowl near the door, which she closed with her left foot. When she left her shoes in the hall with a swift motion, she made her way into her kitchen. Her purse landed in the corner of the countertop and she poured herself a glass of water. She thought back to her day with Brittany. It was probably the best day that she had in a long time. She felt like she had known Brittany for years now, even if they know practically nothing about each other. But it didn't matter, because she would see her again eventually. She just got her phone number, so she could easily text her right now… No, that would seem too desperate. Santana would text her on Saturday before the wedding. Yes, that was a better idea; only two more days to go. She began figuring out the best way to start the text message when she heard her phone ringing in her purse.

Maybe it was Brittany who was calling her now? Maybe she wanted to hear her voice, too? Santana had never found her phone so fast in the mess, which was always evident in her purse. But she had gotten her hopes up too soon when she saw the toothy grin of her boss on her screen: Rachel fucking Berry.

"Yes?" Santana answered, annoyance lacing her voice.

"Oh Santana, I'm glad to catch you. Despite your early leave of work this morning, I really need some extra help. I hope you spent a nice day and you found the things that you were looking for, but everything is going crazy here." Santana rolled her eyes at her boss. She was just so damn annoying. She sounded as if she just ran the New York marathon in less than two and a half hours. "I really need your help, Santana," she said pleadingly. Her breath sounded uneven. Santana smiled to herself. It was good to hear that she was needed, even if she only started at Berry's estate agency a few months ago and had to arrange Rachel's appointments up to now. She took the day off today to get away from her almost unbearable boss…okay, and needed time to search for a dress, but that was mostly a positive side effect.

"How can I help you, Berry?" she asked Rachel sarcastically. She loved to mock her boss. They were in Glee Club together in high school and they never had been the best of friends. At the end of college Santana wrote an application for Rachel's firm – she was kind of drunk when she sent it away, so... She was even more shocked when she found out that Rachel actually wanted to hire her. It wasn't Santana's lifelong dream to work for Berry, but she always told herself that she had no other choice anyway.

"The girl that I assigned your usual work to today proved to be incapable of getting the right order of my many appointments and now everything is in disarrangement. I don't want my agency to get at bad reputation because of this one girl," she really sounded desperate and the girl, Sarah, that she hired for today was in fact dumb as shit.

"Okay. Listen to me Rachel. What time is it right now?" Santana wanted to bring back something of Rachel's sanity.

"It's 4:50 PM," she said with a loud sigh.

Santana was trying to think of the appointments that she had scheduled for her today. "Did you meet the Millers yet?"

"No, I haven't…Oh my God, Santana… Does that mean that I skipped an important meeting? I cannot simply forget appointments, Santana. What am I supposed to do now? I will lose the firm. My dads will be so disappointed in me…" Santana could hear a sob ringing through her phone. Rachel will be about to pass out any moment, so she had to think…quickly.

"Rachel…" There was no answer. "Rachel, listen," still nothing but sobbing on the other line. Santana glanced over to the clock in the living room. "You got exactly nine and a half minutes to get to Collins Avenue, you hear me. It's not bad to arrive a little bit later than the clients, okay? It makes you look busy and busy-looking estate agents are always good. So wipe the smeared mascara off of your face and show them your best fake smile and their hopefully new home. The keys are in the right, first drawer in my desk, alright?" Santana waited a moment till Rachel's small voice sounded through the phone.

"Alright," she said. Santana sighed in relief.

"I will be there in about fifteen minutes and try to fix the mess, that Sarah made and then I will send you your next appointment." She was just about to end the call when she heard a quiet, but grateful _Thanks _at the other end of the line. Santana smiled and could already hear Rachel running down the hall towards her desk to search for the right key. "Yeah yeah, Berry. You definitely owe me something after today." She added with a chuckle and shut down her phone, before Rachel could reply.

*B*S*

When Santana finally arranged the mess that the soon to be fired co-worker made, she remembered her phone call with Mercedes. She told her she would call her back when she was home. That was two hours ago and Santana was pretty sure that her best friend would be pissed about that. She grabbed her phone and dialed the familiar number. She squeezed it between her left ear and shoulder as she put some pens back to their correct places.

"San, what took you so long?" Mercedes sounded mad. "I waited for your call for two hours."

"I'm really sorry. Rachel needed me in the agency."

"But it's your day off, San." Was she her babysitter or what?

"I know that, silly. It was an emergency. But now Rachel owes me something…" Santana had a mischievous grin on her while she twirled her index finger around the strap of her sweater.

She could her hear friend smile. "It's your life, San. You can do whatever you want." She said with a huff. "But now back to the girl from earlier. I didn't forget. So what happened at the mall? Any wedding plans yet?"

"No, unfortunately not." Santana replied shaking her head slightly at her friend. "But everything is possible, right?"

"Yes it is. So what's her name?" Mercedes asked, intrigued. Santana smiled to herself as pictures of the beautiful blonde invaded her mind once again.

"Her name is Brittany…"

*B*S*

The day of the wedding came sooner than Brittany expected because her two different jobs caused the time fly by. She stepped out of the youth center around midday. The sun was heating up the asphalt and the stuffy air made it harder for her to breathe properly. She quickly made her way to her car, did some grocery shopping and finally arrived at home. After eating a light salad – because she would be enjoying the huge wedding buffet early enough – she ran herself a relaxing bath. Before she could strip off her dance clothes, her phone rang in the kitchen.

"Hello?" Brittany answered it in a friendly tone.

"Hey, Britt," a familiar voice greeted her. "Are you home yet?" Isabella asked.

"Yeah, I just ate some salad and I'm about to get ready right now." Brittany made her way back to the bathroom to turn off the faucet. "How are you doing? Are you nervous?"

"No…surprisingly I'm not, it could be worse I guess." Isabella was never the person who freaked out on the outside, but Brittany knew her too well to be aware of her best friend's inner struggles.

"You say that now," Brittany laughed. "You always freak out when it is about to start, but I know that everything will be fine."

"Of course it will be fine. I just wanted to call to say that we are meeting up at my house around 2:15. Then we'll have enough time to be at church around three," she informed her best friend.

"Alright, I will be there." Brittany was now fully aware that she hadn't been the maid of honor that she was supposed to be. She thought about the last months of planning Isabella's big day. "Isabella?" she asked shyly.

"Mmm," Isabella replied puzzled.

"I want to apologize." There was no respond at the end of line, so Brittany continued, "I'm really sorry that I wasn't a good friend the last months. When you made me your maid of honor, I was so happy and I wanted to make everything perfect. But now I don't even know important details about your wedding, you know? I have no idea when the guests will arrive or the buffet will be served. I only know that I'm supposed to hold your bouquet during the ceremony and I feel like I had been useless for you for the last weeks. I'm really sorry about…" Brittany didn't realize that she was rambling until Isabella interrupted her little speech.

"Hey, Brittany, listen." Brittany tried to calm her breathing and to suppress her guilty conscious. "I'm not mad at you, I promise. I knew before I asked you, that you have so much work to do. But I wanted you as my maid of honor anyways. And you helped in finding the perfect dress when the others couldn't. And I don't care that you couldn't help me as much as Quinn, Lucy and Dana could, so don't be mad at yourself, okay?"

Brittany knew that Isabella meant what she just said, but not even that could make her feel better. "Okay," she lied. She was mad at herself, but she now had to suppress her feelings and be there for her the best she could; at least for today. "So I'm gonna see you in two hours then…and don't start freaking out before I arrive." Isabella giggled at the other end of the line.

"I promise I won't, Brittany. See you later."

"Bye." She ended the call and put her phone on the small shelf by her tub. When she picked some towels out off the cabinet next to the sink, she put them on the rack on the wall and stepped into the hot water. Her sore muscles were quickly embraced by the warm liquid and Brittany lowered herself completely into the bath tub.

She lay there for a while and let the water engulf her body. She would do this every day if she had the time for it. She allowed her mind to wander and thought about last week's events. Monday and Tuesday had felt like hell on earth. The guests at the club were more drunk and invasive than ever. She had to settle a dispute at least four times; one time the police actually had to come, because everything was getting out of control. She was pretty used to shouting and fighting guests, but these two days especially had been nervewrecking for her. Luckily Wednesday went by without special incidents.

Since Isabella asked her to be her maid of honor, she had procrastinated shopping. And every time she tried to search for a dress, she was too busy finding different stuff like a new shaver or a new flower vase. She knew that she had to find a dress quickly. She didn't even have special requirements from Isabella's side; she could pick anything she wanted, but not one piece of fabric seemed right her to her. When Thursday rolled along, she finally decided to stay at that shopping mall for as long as she needed. Brittany thought about that particular day with a huge smile on her face. That had been the day she met Santana. This breathtakingly beautiful woman that she had mistaken for the sales lady. This probably wasn't the first moment she was embarrassed, but this was the first time she wanted to hide in shame. At first Brittany couldn't form an actual sentence in the presence of the brunette. Throughout the day it seemed like both were enjoying the little teasing. Whether in the dressing room or at the cafe, both of them were aware of the tension between them. At least it was what Brittany wished. Maybe she could text her right now. She had enough time till she was supposed to meet the girls, so why not try to reduce the time?

Brittany lifted her upper body up at bit, till she could dry her hands on the towel over her head. She grabbed her phone and searched for Santana's number. After formulating a friendly text, she hit Send.

*B*S*

Santana was sitting at her kitchen table for about ten minutes now, her phone in her left hand. She was desperately searching for a cute text she could send to Brittany. It felt like her brain was empty and she forgot all her flirting skills by now.

Her head snapped up and she nearly threw her phone against the fridge, when she felt it vibrating in her hand. When she saw Brittany's name on the screen, a big smile formed on her face. She couldn't understand how the blonde did that. One second she was thinking about her and the other second she had sent her a message.

**B: Hey San. What's up? :)**

Even this little question caused a tickling sensation in her body. Or maybe it was the awareness that Brittany was thinking about her right now, too. She was a bit mad at herself that she didn't come up with such an easy question herself, but quickly responded anyway.

**S: Not much, just came back from work :-) You?**

**B: Just came home from my dance lesson, too. I was wondering if you still want to watch sometime. **

Santana smiled to herself. She promised it and she was looking forward seeing her again in the near future, the sooner the better.

**S: Of course I'm still coming :-) I don't break my promises. On which days do you give dance lessons?**

**B: Thursday and Saturday. But you can choose when you want to come.**

*B*S*

Brittany was already wrapped up into her towel and made her way to her bedroom to find the dress they brought together, her phone always in reach in case Santana replied. As she laid it at her bed, it made a beeping sound and Santana's name appeared on the screen. She quickly opened it, forgetting about the goose bumps that were slowly forming on her skin.

**S: How about next Thursday?**

Thursday was perfect because it would be a surprise for the kids when they would see their guest. And of course Brittany was twice as nervous, because, one, she will finally see Santana again, and, two, she didn't want the kids to embarrass her. She stepped into her bathrobe and started drying her hair with the hair-dryer after she answered.

**B: Yep. Perfect :) **

**S: Cool. Looking forward to see you dance ;-) **

Brittany's was pretty sure that her heart beat just increased and that her cheeks now had a tint of red. What was a single winking smiley doing to her?

**B: And I'm looking forward seeing you again…**

Brittany added the three periods for good measure. Yes, maybe she wanted to make clear that she was also interested in her. She didn't even know if Santana was interested, but the smiley just heightened the changes.

**S: Me too :-) So I will quickly take a shower. Do you have plans for tonight, too?**

Was she trying to kill her before Thursday? Now she pictured Santana in a shower, completely naked of course. The really inappropriate thought made her blush even more. She was sure she had to change her undergarments before she would leave. But she replied nonetheless and finished her side ponytail carefully. She didn't have much time left.

**B: Yeah, I have. I should probably go get changed. I'm already late.**

**S: Sorry for keeping you :-) **

Brittany laughed and answered back quickly because she didn't want to leave Santana with her wrong assumptions.

**B: Nooo, you didn't keep me, San.**

**S: Good :-D Then I will see you next Thursday. I'll probably text you sooner to ask for the address. Have a great evening, Britt. xx**

Brittany probably sat there grinning like an idiot right now, but Santana's words always seemed so perfectly chosen and honest. At least Brittany hoped so… She didn't want this conversation to end and only answered reluctantly.

**B: You too, San. Have fun. xoxo**

How much she would do to see Santana her right now…

* * *

><p>AN: Sorry for the long wait. I hope you still want to read my story. ;) Let me know what you think about this chapter. Have a great night/day.


	5. There is always a second chance

Santana hurried up the stairs into church. She hadn't gone to church for more than ten years now. The last time she attended, she was probably ten on Christmas Eve or something. She wasn't entirely sure, but it didn't really matter anyway.

She pushed the huge door open and saw her brother standing in the foyer in his perfect grey suit, fidgeting with the hem of his blazer. He saw her walking towards him and smiled at her. "Hey. How are you feeling?" she asked him.

"I've never been so nervous in my life before," he told her honestly. "I can't focus on anything. I just want to see her now. They are stuck in traffic. Her friend called a couple of minutes ago."

"Yeah, the traffic is pretty bad right now. I was afraid that I would miss the wedding." She felt really badly for him because she could sense how nervous he was. "You look great, by the way."

"Thank you, San. And just so you know, I'm really glad you came." He took her hand in his own and squeezed it quickly. Santana didn't expect this gesture and was really touched by his action.

"Honestly I didn't think that you would invite me, you know. After what happened. I nearly accepted it, but I'm so happy that you want me to be part of it." Santana told him with sad eyes. She looked to the ground quickly.

"San." He moved her head up so that she could see into his eyes. "Look at me. You're my sister, okay? You mean so much to me and I couldn't bear not inviting you. I want you here with us, you understand?" Santana nodded as a tear fell down her cheek. But Manuel quickly took his hand to her face to wipe it away. This situation made Santana think back to the day she got her invitation…

*B*S*

_After spending a whole almost unbearable hour "chatting" with her __sickeningly cheerful __boss, Santana finally made her way back home. It was unbelievable how many words Rachel could bring across her lips within a minute. How did this woman even convince any clients to buy or rent a real estate? Santana would run away if it turned out that Berry was her real estate agent. But the permanent hateful thoughts slowly died down the nearer she was to her apartment. She grabbed her mail, skimming through it after she entered the kitchen: bills, more bills, a postcard from Italy that Sugar sent her…_

_Santana had to smile at that. Sugar met Tom in their senior year. He was filthy rich and sole heir of a huge firm. Santana still didn't know why he even attended high school and didn't have his own private teacher, but whatever… So Sugar apparently made a really good catch and now sent a postcard from a different country every month. Santana nearly had postcards of every single country pinned on her fridge door and she could now add Italy—Sardinia to be precise. _

_When she went through the rest of her mail, a golden envelope caught her attention. Her name was placed in the middle of it, written in a curly handwriting. She carefully opened it until she held a folded card in her hand. It seemed to be an invitation to a wedding. She opened it. Her breath hitched when she read the names that were written on the card: Manuel Lopez and Isabella Johnson. Santana's mind went crazy and she had no idea what to think about that. She hadn't talked to her brother for four years now. He didn't even bother asking her what she was doing or where she was going to college. He just disappeared out of her life, just like her parents after the particular day that Santana refused to think about._

_In the bottom corner of the invitation, she found a little personal note, which said _Call me when you read this. I have to talk to you_._

_Santana let out a small chuckle. It was definitely her brother's handwriting. She couldn't believe what she was even reading. Manuel had dropped her like a wet towel almost five years ago, and now, when he was getting married, he just came crawling back. She shook her head at the thought. Of course she really missed her brother and a little glimpse of hope was already present in her chest. Even if she couldn't trust him immediately, she wanted to call him. _

_She pinned the invitation on her fridge door and grabbed her phone. But instead of calling her brother, she dialed her best friend's familiar number and told Mercedes about the strange note she got. After a couple of minutes of contemplating whether to call him or not, she finally decided to do it. She asked herself why she still had his number saved in her phone anyway, but quickly put it in the back of her mind when she heard the free-line signal. Her heart was now pounding loudly in her chest, so loudly that she was afraid that her brother might even hear it. _

"_Hello?" said a familiar voice. Santana didn't know how to respond. She suddenly wasn't too sure about actually calling him now. "Hello?" Manuel repeated hesitantly. It was now or never. Santana was pretty sure that she couldn't bring herself to call him again, so she decided to speak up._

"_Manuel…it's Santana," she said with a small voice. It seemed like all of her confidence was hidden in the corner of her kitchen. _

"_Santana." Her brother sounded surprised…obviously. "I didn't think that you would call…" he said in a happy voice. "But I'm glad you did."_

_Anger started building up inside her once again and she really had to keep herself from screaming at him. It was like all of those years were nonexistent to him, by the way he was talking to her, but so many questions were swirling in her mind. "I'm just going to ask one question now and I want you to answer it honestly." She waited for a response and continued when her brother stayed silent. "Why?...Why now? You just disappeared out of my life and NOW, after almost five years I'm supposed to come to your wedding and act like nothing happened? Do you really think I'm that desperate to just forgive you?" Ignoring the question she had asked in the first place, Santana couldn't stop the all of those words that came pouring out of her mouth, so she didn't. She wanted to tell her brother how he treated her and hurt her. She wanted him to know. Tears began to well up in her eyes. _

"_I can't just pretend these four years didn't happen. I don't even know if you respect me now for who I am. I know Mom and Dad will never change their minds about me and I accepted it. But when you turned your back on me and I left, you didn't come after me! You never called or wanted to know what I was doing. You just dropped me. It really hurt not having a brother anymore. When people asked me if I had siblings, I didn't know if I should tell them no and just drop the topic and go on, or to tell them that I have a brother, but it doesn't feel like he is. Do you think that it's easy, not having parents who support you? Parents that would rather hate you than to sit at one table and talk." Her voice broke audibly. Santana's eyes couldn't hold back the tears anymore and they started to fall freely down her cheeks. _

"_Santana, I'm so sorry, I…" Manuel tried to speak up, but Santana didn't let him._

"_No, I'm not done yet. I imagined how it would feel when you would call me or wanted to talk to me. I even dreamed about it. I imagined it to be perfect and sweet…the reunion everybody wished for. But now that I could have it, I'm angrier than ever before in my life. I realize now that I really missed you, Manuel. I still do. But it will not be easy to convince me that you missed me, too." All of the feelings that Santana had hidden in her chest for all those years finally found their way out. She felt more light-heartened and a smile made her way to her face. What an inappropriate moment to smile, but Santana couldn't help herself. It felt like a huge rock was lifted off of her shoulders and she finally was able to listen to what her brother had to say. "It's your turn now, Manuel," Santana asked him to speak. And after some moments, he did._

"_I can't tell you how sorry I am about all of this. For pushing you away in the first place, for ignoring you, for not calling you, and for leaving you. I am truly sorry. I can only imagine how much I hurt you, but I promise you that I will change. I love you for who you are. I don't care that you're gay. I love you nonetheless and I really want to try to make it up to you. I know it's hard for you to trust me…but I would be so happy to meet you someday and talk. I can't find a reason for my behavior, but I hope that you will at least give me a chance to explain…" _

_Santana's head was spinning and she had to steady herself at her kitchen table. Those words that left Manuel's mouth were the words Santana was longing for since he left. And now hearing them made her heart jump out of her chest. She wished she could forgive him someday. She really would try and a little flame of hope was now slowly gaining height. _

"_Okay…" Maybe she should hear him out…_

*B*S*

Santana had talked to her brother a few times after that particular phone call to get to know each other better again. They had many things to catch up on. But apart from Manuel, Santana didn't talk to her family for almost five years. "Do they know I'm here?" Santana asked carefully. She wanted to mentally prepare herself for their confrontation.

"I made some indications, but I never really told them. No matter what happens tonight, I'm on your side. Don't forget that, Santana."

"Thank you, Manuel. You have no idea how much this means to me." She cleaned the few tears that had fell down her cheek with the back of her hand and added quickly, "But this day is about you and Isabella, so no more tears, only happy ones." She laughed lightly.

"You will find someone, too." She threw herself into his arms and held him so tightly that it hurt, but it didn't matter to her right now. She had her older brother back. Finally. She would still need time to completely forgive him, and most likely this was never going to happen, but his effort to try was reason enough to let him be her brother again. But Santana was still a bit anxious about how far their mother's presence would influence Manuel. She just couldn't imagine him to stand up against their mother and tell her his opinion about Santana.

"San?" a familiar voice asked behind her. She turned around and saw Puck, his brother's best man and long best friend. "You came," he simply stated.

"Yeah, of course I showed up. What were you thinking?" She wrapped her arms around him quickly. "How are you doing?"

"Great, really great." He nodded and had a pleased expression on his face.

"He's engaged," Manuel said from behind them with a smirk on his face. "Can you imagine?" he added with a small chuckle.

"Seriously?" Santana made a shocked face and turned back to Puck, who just nodded proudly. "THE Noah Puckerman is engaged? Who is the happy bride?" She asked curiously.

"Quinn. You remember her?" he asked her. "Actually, she's also here tonight." He looked proud. Santana had totally not expected that. Puck was never the guy who got into serious relationships. Yeah, Santana always listened to them talking about girls, when she was supposed to do her homework.

"Oh, my God, Quinn Fabray from high school? The head cheerleader you got pregnant? Wasn't she…"

"Whoa, hold on right there, okay?" He held up his hands in front of him to stop her from speaking.

"Who would have thought that Puck would become a softie and get married?" He rolled her eyes at her. Santana heard Puck's phone buzzing in his pocket, and he took a quick look and shoved it back inside.

"Okay. Shit just got real. She is finally here now, so I would suggest we get our asses in this church and wait till she arrives." He pushed against Manuel's shoulder. Santana smiled to herself. Nothing really changed between the two of them. And it really felt good that somehow one thing stayed the same.

"Alright." He took a deep breath. "Are you coming, San?" Her brother sounded nervous.

"No, no, go ahead. I just want to say hi to Isabella and then I'm taking a seat in the back. Because if Mom and Dad see me, your whole ceremony would be ruined," she said quickly, which caused a sad expression on Manuel's face. "You can do this." She held her crossed fingers up to make her point clear.

"Okay, see you later." He turned around and started to enter the huge room through the double doors with Puck.

"Puck?" She waited till he turned around to look at her. "Congratulations," she told him earnestly. He smiled softly. He really had changed.

"Thanks. You will find the right girl soon. I can feel it," he added with a wink and entered the church. Great, really great. She really hoped that not everybody will tell her today that she will find the right person eventually, because she gets really frustrated hearing it.

The moment that Santana turned around, she heard the huge wooden door opening. Isabella came up the stairs, careful not to step on her wedding dress. Santana realized the bridesmaid who held the door open was Quinn, Puck's fiancé, in a full-length violet dress. She helped Isabella's veil to not get stuck in the plants besides the door. Isabella was wearing a beautiful white dress, which was a bit wider under the tight corset. Her hair was pinned up, only a few strands of curly her were hanging at the side of her face. Two girls, which Santana had never seen till now, followed them through the huge doors.

"Santana," Isabella stated when she looked up from her dress and spotted her in front of the doors. "Nice to see you." She came walking towards her.

"You look amazing, Isabella," Santana said as the corners of her mouth curled up. Isabella smiled back at her hesitantly. Santana didn't really know what to think about that, but quickly shrugged it off. She was most likely very nervous. It was her wedding day after all. Her eyes fell on Quinn, who stood there with her mouth slightly agape. "Nice to see you, Quinn," Santana said with a small chuckle, when she saw Quinn staring at her. The two of them were pretty good friends since elementary school. In high school, they lost touch after a big mistake Santana made. Both of them found other friends and tried to rule the school on their own.

"Long time no see, San," Quinn said, a smile forming on her face. She came closer and stood in front of her now. Santana could see that Quinn was in deep thought, whether she should be mad or friendly. Santana wasn't exactly the nicest person in high school.

She noticed Quinn`s inner conflict. But, deep down, Santana was pleasantly surprised to see her and took a step closer to her and opened her arms. "Come over here, Quinn." Quinn's smile widened and she closed the gap between them and returned the hug. They both let out a small laughter at the unexpected and awkward situation. They both let go, smiling at each other. "I heard you a Puck are getting married…"

"Where did you hear that?" She had a shocked expression on her face. "Only a few people know. We don't want to spread it around at Manuel and Bella's wedding day… Oh, he's so dead…"

"He didn't tell me." Quinn's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "Manuel did."

"Seriously?" Isabella asked behind them, clearly listening what they were talking about. "He wasn't supposed to tell." Santana and Quinn turned towards Isabella.

"Don't worry. I can keep it a secret." Santana didn't want to cause an argument at their wedding.

"Oh, I bet you can." Isabella muttered with her face directed to the floor. Something told Santana that she wasn't supposed to hear that. But before she could question it, Isabella quickly added, "Okay let's go, everyone is waiting and we're already late." She was looking around her three bridesmaids. She got a confused and questioning facial expression as if she was searching for someone. "Where the hell is…"

"Coming!" a bubbly voice came from outside the church. "I'm right here." Santana had a slight smile on her lips at the randomness of the situation.

And then Santana noticed who was running up the huge stairs. Her baby blue dress caught her attention and the curly locks, which were pulled into a cute side ponytail. And then she looked into the prettiest and bluest eyes of the universe. Brittany's. She stopped running and just stood there by the main entrance.

Santana couldn't hide her huge grin anymore. Brittany returned the goofy grin. When they stood there, lost in each other's eyes, nothing seemed to matter anymore. A small blush crept across both of their cheeks.

Isabella realized what was going on and quickly made her way towards Brittany. "Oh good, you have my bouquet." She grabbed the flowers, which caused Brittany and Santana to snap out of their day dream state. Isabella grabbed her hand and yanked Brittany towards the entrance, where everyone was still waiting. "Thanks, Britt. Let's go now. My dad is waiting." The music began to play and the sound of chatting voices died down.

Santana stood there, still a bit dazzled by the blonde's appearance. Brittany quickly mouthed a "Hi" in Santana's direction, which she gladly returned. Before she disappeared into the church, she winked, making Santana's face turn into a bright shade of red. Maybe the wedding wouldn't be a total disaster…

* * *

><p><strong>I would love to hear what you think of this chapter. ;) <strong>


	6. Secret Smiles

I'm so sorry for the long wait. I haven't been at home for the whole week and I wasn't able to update till now. I hope I can make it up to you by posting a longer chapter.

The song is called _Feels Like Home_ by_ Edwina Hayes_ /watch?v=HrLbrBtD2H0

* * *

><p>Santana took an unoccupied seat in the back of the church. She didn't really pay attention to anything that the priest said during the ceremony. Instead, she followed Brittany with her eyes. She looked really happy and excited and kept fidgeting with the bouquet that she was holding. Sometimes she caught a little glimpse of Santana, which caused both girls to smile quickly.<p>

Brittany was surprised when she found Santana in the foyer earlier. Even if Brittany is Isabella's maid of honor, she couldn't really plan the wedding, so she didn't know who was coming or even know about the little performance later on. Only an hour ago they both wished each other a great evening and now they are both attending the same wedding. So this is definitely going to be a good party, because she could finally talk to the girl that she met a couple of days ago. She found herself fascinated by her and always caught herself checking if Santana still sat in the back of the church. Brittany wondered why she didn't sit in the front. There was enough space for such a petite woman. She remembered their afternoon together, when Santana told her that she had to go to her brother's wedding this weekend. Does this mean that Manuel was Santana's brother? He never told anything about her. She always thought that he was an only child. _But if she was his sister, why didn't she sit with their parents?_ Brittany wondered.

Then Brittany remembered that Santana is supposed to sing tonight. This thought made Brittany more excited about the party later. She looked forward to hearing her voice and seeing her perform. She is probably the best singer in the whole world, if Manuel asked her to sing at their wedding.

"I do," Isabella answered firmly. Brittany came back to reality and smiled quickly. She was really happy for them, but now she felt bad because she spent the best part of the wedding wondering about Santana's voice. Well, she was just really curious what her voice might sound like. Maybe she will even make a speech… Brittany couldn't wait to talk to her again. She stole a quick glance at Santana, who smiled back at her again. What a coincidence, that every time that she looked, Santana had the same thought. Maybe they have connected brains or something?

"I do," Manuel's voice rang through the church. _Crap._ She missed the vows again. She mentally slapped herself for being such an idiot. She quickly looked around if someone noticed her mental absence. Only Santana had her eyes on Brittany again, which caused a blush to creep up Brittany's face. Apparently the woman's stares weren't only by accident.

Loud cheers filled the church and Brittany quickly spun her head around to see her best friends' first kiss as a just married couple. She clapped along and smiled at them when she handed Isabella her bouquet again. The bride had a huge smile plastered on her face when they slowly made their way to the exit.

Santana speeded through the door to the bathroom before her parents could spot her. The guests were slowly approaching the end of the aisle, including Brittany, who had a confused expression written on her face when she saw Santana hurrying out of the church to the bathroom. The first guests made their ways out and threw confetti at the newly wedded couple. When they were about to climb into the limo, Brittany quickly helped her best friend with her dress and whispered. "I'll be right back, you can start driving. I'll be there later." Her best friend just shrugged and nodded, and didn't seem to mind. Brittany entered the church again and followed Santana into the bathroom, which was situated in a small hallway near the foyer.

"San?" She didn't wait till Santana answered and pushed the door open slightly. She was standing in front of the huge mirror, more beautiful than the ever, applying some lip gloss to her plump lips, but her head was pointed towards Brittany. She looked surprised.

"Hey, you." Brittany gracefully made her way to Santana. "What are you doing at the wedding?" She asked with a big smile on her face, even if though she knew the answer. She stood next to her and they made eye contact through the mirror.

"I'm Manuel's younger sister," she stated quickly.

"I didn't know he had a sister. He never told anything about you." Santana's face fell and she looked into the sink, a little sad. Brittany immediately regretted saying what she just said, because she couldn't stand the girl beside her not being happy. She took her left hand and laid it on top of Santana's right shoulder, which caused Santana to turn her head towards Brittany. "Sorry, San. I shouldn't have said that."

"It's okay. I'm not really surprised. We didn't speak to each other till last month, so I guess it's no wonder he didn't mention me," she said with a sad smile and turned to her purse again. When Santana saw Brittany's face become harder through the mirror and her eyebrows knitting together in confusion, she quickly added, "But we're good now… so no reason to be sad anymore." She tried to put on a smile, but failed. It turned out forced and not really believable.

"Are you okay?" Brittany could feel that something was bothering the brunette, but she wouldn't force Santana to tell her. "You seem tense."

"No, I'm fine." That was a lie. Santana had many things on her mind. Her parents, who are going to see her at the party, or Manuel and Isabella. She wasn't really sure if Manuel could keep the promise that he made earlier, when she would be confronted with their parents sooner or later. And the closer the party got, the more concerned Santana was about what would happen. She had this strange feeling that something bad was going to happen tonight.

Her eyes wandered back to Brittany, who was standing there in full beauty. She was wearing the baby blue dress that they bought together. Santana could get lost in her eyes, which seemed endless and matched her dress perfectly. "You look beautiful," Santana unintentionally said out loud after a minute of silence. Brittany looked up, surprised, and immediately blushed furiously. Their eyes met and the tension was nearly unbearable. The previous topic was forgotten and, instead, just the two of them mattered right now.

"Thanks," a shy whisper came from Brittany's lips. She faced her fully and Santana imitated her action and suddenly they stood really close to each other. "You look beautiful, too," Brittany said and wanted to shove her against the closest stall door and kiss her senseless. She wanted to feel Santana's lips on her own since she first saw her. "You took my advice to heart," Brittany spoke up, forcing the more than inappropriate thoughts into the back of her mind.

"What?" Santana asked confused. She still was a bit bewildered by their staring contest.

"Your hair," Brittany simply stated. She let her eyes wander over Santana's face and her curly hair, which fell down loosely around her shoulders. "You look so pretty when you wear it like that." Brittany took a single strand between her fingers and swirled it, before she let go.

"Thanks." She looked at the ground and an awkward silence fell over them.

Santana broke it first. "Why aren't you with Isabella? You're her bridesmaid, right?"

"Yeah, right. But I wanted to look where you went and I'm pretty useless anyway. I have no idea about the next event in their schedule so…I thought I 'd better come after you, instead of holding the bride bouquet." Santana felt great after hearing this. Although she had no idea if Brittany liked her back, Brittany seemed to be the only person in this church who understood her and her feelings.

"It's a pretty tough task to hold the bouquet." Santana stated jokingly. Brittany's laugher filled the bathroom, and Santana joined in after a moment. She loved making the blonde laugh. It made her heart flutter with joy. "Come on, let's hit the party." Santana grabbed Brittany's hand and lead her towards the exit. "I can give you a ride, if you want," she said when they got closer to her car.

"Oh, thank God. I thought you would never ask," Brittany said with relief. Santana giggled. "I seriously am not in the mood to walk all the way in these shoes," Brittany lifted her right foot to show Santana her heels, which were probably not appropriate for a long walk.

"I wouldn't have left you standing here alone," she stated sincerely. Brittany smiled at her and got into the car after Santana held the door open for her.

*B*S*

"You alright?" Brittany asked, concerned, sensing Santana's discomfort when they entered the wedding location. Santana just nodded and put her jacket on the designated rack in the foyer und followed the already very loud sounds of the wedding guests. Santana was surprised by the beautiful decorations. Everything was decorated in a soft color of light green and there were some nicely placed white lilies spread around the room. The long buffet tables were covered with a pearly-white tablecloth and were placed around the huge dance floor and the stage.

Seeing the whole room and all the people scattered around the room made Santana's heartbeat increase instantly. Of course she had performed in front of a huge crowd with the Glee Club at Nationals before, but this was a whole new level. Her family, who she hadn't seen in years, was here tonight, and to make things worse, they were the only people who hated her to death.

She felt how her arm was carefully grasped by Brittany's soft hand. She looked up into those blue eyes, which just shined back at her. "Come on let's congratulate the happy couple," she told Santana, and they made their way to Manuel and Isabella, who were hidden by all of the guests who wanted to give their best wishes to the newlyweds. Brittany and Santana just stood there for a while, waiting for the other guests to leave, before they could finally talk to them.

"Congratulations, Manuel," Santana said while hugging her brother friendlily. "It was a wonderful ceremony." Okay, Santana hadn't really seen much of the ceremony, because she was preoccupied with watching Brittany.

"Thank you, San," he said, pulling away. They both looked at Brittany who was squealing into Isabella's ear, nearly crushing her bones with her hug, according to Isabella's expression. Manuel had to suppress a chuckle. So did Santana. Brittany was just so adorable, it was unreal. Brittany put down her best friend again and turned to Manuel, pulling him into an equally strong hug.

Santana didn't know what to say to Isabella. They never got along smoothly in the past, and a hug seemed inappropriate. "Congratulations to you, too," Santana told her, friendly while keeping her distance. Isabella smiled and thanked her honestly before Brittany yanked Santana towards Quinn, who was standing with Puck a few meters away. Brittany nearly tripped Quinn over when she jumped at her from behind, but Quinn could thankfully keep her balance. Santana let out a loud chuckle and greeted Puck quickly with a wave.

"BRITTANY!," Quinn shrieked deafeningly and pushed her off of her. But she had a huge grin on her face when she turned around and smiled at Santana briefly before engulfing Brittany in a hug. When a waitress came past them, Santana swiftly grabbed a glass of champagne off of the tray and took a huge gulp. She would need it tonight.

"ANNA!" Brittany yelled through the huge room and nearly every pair of eyes was directed at her. So much for not attracting attention tonight, Santana thought to herself. Brittany didn't seem to mind because she was already knocking Anna over in a bone-crushing hug… Yeah, Santana would definitely need some glasses of champagne tonight…

*B*S*

Santana successfully avoided her parents for the whole evening, but now she knew that it was time for her performance. Many people from her family looked at her with a confused expression, sometimes disgust even. But every time they did Brittany kind of appeared out of nowhere and lead her somewhere else, even if she didn't know what the reason for their reaction was. She was like her personal angel. She gathered all of her strength by a little squeeze of her hands from Brittany, when after a couple of speeches including the *cough* heartfelt *cough* story of her mother, who of course didn't lose a word over her youngest daughter, Santana found herself making her way to the stage. Her hands were shaking when she grabbed the microphone from a guy of the band. It made a loud shrieking sound, so everyone was looking at her. She searched the crowd for familiar faces as she caught her brother's shining eyes.

"Hello everyone. I'm Santana Lopez, Manuel's sister." A rumble went through the crowd. Some of them seemed to be surprised, probably because most of them didn't even know her, just like Brittany earlier. "I just want to congratulate you again. I'm really happy for you." Isabella and Manuel shot her a thankful expression. "It's time for your first dance as husband and wife." A few cheers came out of Quinn and Puck's direction, the loudest from Brittany, who stood up from her seat.

Brittany could sense Santana's nervousness and tried to loosen the tension a bit by clapping. Thankfully everyone joined in; otherwise it would have been a bit awkward. A smile formed on Santana's face, which made Brittany sigh in relief. When the couple took their destined place in front of the stage, the room went silent and a single guitar began to play. Brittany wanted to get a better view, so she stepped further to the back of the room and leaned against the wall. Santana's parents sat a bit to her right.

Santana was really nervous and tried to focus on something, when Brittany stepped away from their table. First she thought that she might go, but as she leaned against the wall in the back and smiled at her, Santana's heart nearly dropped. It was like that girl could read her mind or something. Santana still wasn't ready to make eye contact with her parents, so she just chose Brittany to focus on.

When Santana's beautiful voice lighted up the room, Brittany could only watch in awe and with shining eyes.

_Something in your eyes, makes me wanna lose myself  
>Makes me wanna lose myself, in your arms<br>There's something in your voice, makes my heart beat fast  
>Hope this feeling lasts, the rest of my life<em>

Brittany was so caught off guard so that she opened her mouth slightly. Was she singing about her? She knew she focused on her right know. But the two of them just met a couple of days ago, so that couldn't be possible, right? Brittany had to admit that the tension between them was nearly unbearable and that she was so happy around her. But is that a reason to sing a song about her at her brother's wedding? Brittany shook her head at the thought and went to back to listen to the brunette's beautiful voice.

Santana knew that she sooner or later would have to face her mother and father. So she shifted her gaze to the right to look at her parents. They had a numb expression and sat there motionless, looking her right in her eyes as she continued.

_If you knew how lonely my life has been  
>And how long I've been so alone<br>And if you knew how I wanted someone to come along  
>And change my life the way you've done<em>

Her mom's face changed from fixed to disgust. She shook her head and looked at her husband, who just watched Santana sing. Santana, however, couldn't take her parents' sight and her eyes fell on Brittany again. _  
><em>  
><em>It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me<em>_  
><em>_It feels__ like I'm all the way back where I come from  
>It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me<br>It feels like I'm all the way back where I belong_

Brittany had that gorgeous smile, which made Santana's knees go weak and she could see her eyes glimmer in the dimmed light of the room.

A window breaks, down a long, dark street  
>And a siren wails in the night<br>But I'm alright, 'cause I have you here with me  
>And I can almost see, through the dark there is light<p>

Santana had her eyes fixed on the blonde, but took a quick glimpse towards her parents. Her mother must have noticed Brittany in the background through their intense looks. She had her back turned to the stage and shifted her eyes between Brittany and her daughter. She noticed the tension and hurried out of the room. Santana was a bit surprised but had to continue singing. She let her eyes roam through the room until their fell on the couple, which was dancing slowly and contently in the middle of the dance floor.

Well, if you knew how much this moment means to me  
>And how long I've waited for your touch<br>And if you knew how happy you are making me  
>I never thought that I'd love anyone so much<p>

_It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me  
>It feels like I'm all the way the back where I come from<br>It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me_

_It feels like I'm all the way back where I belong  
>It feels like I'm all the way back where I belong<em>

Santana finished the song and a loud wave of applause poured through the room. "Thank you," she said. She smiled, put the microphone back where it belonged, and left the stage. She was just about to go back to their table when she felt a hand yanking her into a small hallway that lead to the bathroom.

"What do you think you're doing?" Her mom's face was cold and angry.

"I was invited to my brother's wedding and he asked me to sing, so I said yes. That is what I'm doing." Santana couldn't stand to see her mother again or even talk to her. She tried to yank herself free but Maria didn't let go off her wrist.

"No, young lady. You're not coming away that easily."

"Now I'm your young lady?" Santana snapped back at her in a breathy laugh, "I don't think so."

"Don't speak to me like that, Santana! I'm your mother!"

"Oh, please. You're not my mother anymore. You told me yourself. You're such a hypocrite."

"Stop talking, now. I don't care what I am to you. You are not supposed to ruin Manuel's wedding with your sinful leering. You don't think I'm too stupid to notice, do you?"

"No, I don't think you're stupid. I only think you're a bitch." Santana replied. Her mother's face grew angrier with each second and Santana was sure that she was going to explode.

"Leave this wedding. NOW!" She pointed to the door. "We don't want you here. Leave!" Santana was shocked, but had a little hope when she saw her brother walking by. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the two women fighting. "Manuel. Come here for a second." Their mother waved him to her sharply and turned around to speak to him. But it was not that Santana couldn't hear them anymore. "You will tell her to leave now. Whether you want it or not. You will not support her lifestyle by inviting her to your wedding. It's wrong and I will not tolerate it… and you won't either."

And there it was. The moment Santana dreaded the whole evening… no, not only today… the last few years. Manuel had to stand up for her. He never did when she needed it the most, but he promised to do it today. Santana's anxiety grew with every second that Manuel stared, motionless, into her eyes. Santana knew that her brother has always been negatively affected by her mother and when he didn't immediately responded, she had the strange feeling that her mother's influence was way too strong.

"Manuel?" Her brother was startled at Santana's voice. "Please don't push me away again. I just got you back… Please," Santana didn't care about what her mother wanted. She wanted Manuel to admit in front of her mother that he wanted her there. "You promised," she whispered when Manuel looked at her with sad eyes and dropped his head.

"I'm sorry, San," he apologized quietly while looking at the ground, which caused a sob to escape the brunette. Tears started pooling in her eyes, threatening to fall. She yanked her jacket from the wardrobe and hurried to the door. But before the warm sun hit her skin, she turned around.

"I trusted you, Manuel. I never thought you would leave me hanging again. You promised me!" she yelled and left without waiting for a response.

* * *

><p>Please tell me what you think of this storychapter. I would really, really appreciate it and I promise I won't bite. ;) So review and keep the review/storyalerts coming :)


	7. Lost and Found

"Where is she?" Brittany grabbed Manuel's hand and spun him around. "I know you were fighting. I could hear you. So tell me," she demanded with pleading eyes.

"Why do you even care?" he asked but continued to walk to his seat between his mother and Isabella, not really expecting an answer.

She followed him to their table and leaned over it to say something to Isabella. "Sorry I have to go now. But I will try to come back later, okay?"

"Where are you going?" Isabella asked incredulously. "It's only 6:30," she added with a look at Manuel's watch.

"I need to look for San. Maybe you can find out why she left… just ask them." She motioned to Manuel and Maria.

"Why do you care so much about her?" Isabella asked curiously, not really understanding their connection.

"She's my friend, okay Bella? So I'm going to try to find her now. I can't leave her alone. Maybe you could give me her address, so that I'm not aimlessly wandering around town searching for her at midnight." Isabella hesitated a bit but then told her the address, which Brittany quickly typed into her phone. "Thanks, Bella. And have a great night." Then she turned around and left.

"What was that about, Manuel? ... What did you do?" Isabella turned to her husband, confused.

"She cares way too much about her." Maria thought out loud, shaking her head. Her husband Armando just watched as Brittany left through the door.

*B*S*

Santana couldn't stop the tears from falling down her face as she dropped down behind a tree where she was hidden from curious eyes. She just sat there… motionless… disappointed… broken. She really thought that Manuel had changed when he invited her to the wedding. He promised her that he wouldn't listen to his mother, but after all… he did. He didn't defend her. She knew that he had no problem with her being gay. He told her today that she would find the right person some day. She knew he cared. But she couldn't care less about her parents now, especially after what happened today. The little hope, for her brother to come around eventually, was gone.

"He promised," she whispered into her hands as new tears built up in her eyes.

*B*S*

Brittany grabbed her purse and stepped out into the warm summer air. The sunset made the city glisten in a shade of red. The air was dry and craved for the long awaited rain. Brittany scanned the area. She kept her eyes searching so that she wouldn't miss any important detail. The first thing that came to her mind was her car. Quickly - but still with inquiring eyes – she stepped into the parking lot. There was no sign of the brunette, but Santana's car still stood in the space where they had left it. Brittany grabbed her phone out of her purse and tapped at Santana's number when she found it. She waited till Santana's voice rang through the phone. "Sorry. I'm not available right now. It must be something important, when my phone is off, because I carry it everywhere. You can try later or leave me a message." A beep came from the speaker. _It must be something important._

Brittany tried to think of the right words to say. "Hey San. It's Brittany. Please call me when you hear this. I just want to know if you're okay. Please call me back."

Brittany ended the call and turned her phone louder, so that she could hear when Santana hopefully tried to contact her. She quickly sent another message and pushed her phone back into her purse. Brittany needed to find her. She needed to know what happened. No, scratch that. She needed to know if she was okay. She will not pressure her to talk when she would find her. At least she would try to find her and not leave her everybody else did.

*B*S*

Santana wanted to leave and go home as soon as possible. She couldn't stand the close proximity to her family anymore and was afraid that anyone could find her here. She stepped out in the evening sun again. She made a beeline to her car, fighting back the tears, which seemed to never stop. She drove home with blurred vision. Her hands were shaking when she pushed the door to her apartment building and pressed the elevator button. It felt like a wonder that she came here alive. This was the first time she fully took her appearance in the huge mirror. She saw her mascara-stained face and tried to wipe the make-up away, but it didn't work. The doors slid open and she tried to search for her keys. This didn't work either. Her hands were still shaking and she wasn't able to find the keys. She was tired. Exhausted even. The door wouldn't open and she was tired of trying so she just let her body slip down to the floor and her arms hug her propped up legs. She just gave in when she rested her forehead on her knees.

*B*S*

Brittany made her way to the nearby park and searched everywhere. But nothing. After what felt like hours of wandering around parks, shops, and cafés, leaving and sending messages, she made her way back to the parking lot. The sun was almost completely gone and the streetlights were already on.

Santana's car wasn't there.

Brittany hurried to the street and hailed a taxi, which she found surprisingly fast. She told Santana's address to the driver. Then she waited and let her mind wander as she watched the city lights passing by her. _Why do you care so much about her?_ She heard Isabella's voice in her head. Honestly… Brittany had no idea. She didn't even know if she and Santana were friends or not. But they had a connection. That was unquestionable. She didn't care if it was creepy that she was following her, but she wanted to make sure that she was alright.

After a couple of minutes, the car stopped in front of a nice renovated apartment building. She paid the driver and walked through the entrance. She looked at her phone again to find out which floor she needed. _3_. Her finger pushed the elevator button and the door closed.

Brittany took a deep breath before she stepped out. Her hands were fidgeting and she was more nervous than before. What if Santana wasn't there? What if she was still wandering around town and nobody helped her? Or maybe she was totally fine by now and Brittany just made it a bigger problem than it actually was?

But when she saw the limp body of Santana propped up against her apartment door, she knew that it was a good decision to follow her. She had no intention to startle the brunette, so she slowly made her way to her. Her heels tapping against the tiles were way too loud and it seemed that the sound made the whole hall vibrate. Santana lifted her head up slightly to see who it was. It couldn't be the old woman who lived across from her, because she was probably asleep by now.

"San?" Brittany broke the silence first, when Santana caught her blue eyes and dress. "Are you okay?" She clearly was not, so she mentally slapped herself for asking that question. When Santana's face contorted and she shook her head no, she buried her head into her hands again. Brittany didn't think twice about it and stepped closer to her. She sat beside her and pulled her body into her own. She held her like that in a warm embrace and occasionally stroked some of the dark hair away from her face. Brittany's warm body curled around her soothed Santana a bit, because she knew that she was safe with her now.

*B*S*

They sat there for an inestimable period of time, when Santana's skin started to form goose bumps. She only wore her short cream dress after all and the tiles and the hall weren't warm either. "Let's get you inside, San," Brittany whispered into her ear. There was still no reaction from Santana. Brittany eventually pulled away and grabbed Santana's purse to get the apartment key. After she figured out which one fitted the key hole, she stretched her hand to Santana's direction, who was staring at her with sad eyes. It almost broke Brittany's heart, seeing her like this. But luckily Santana grabbed her hand and let Brittany pull her up. With steady arms around her shoulders, Brittany led her inside and she closed door with her foot.

The apartment wasn't really big but comfortable. There were some colorful paintings on the otherwise white walls. The wooden floor cracked a little when Brittany led Santana to the soft fabric couch in the living room. Santana was shaking now and her arms immediately found their way around her own body again to ease the cold. Brittany searched for a blanked but didn't find one right away so she stepped into the really cozy bedroom and pulled the blanket with her, careful not to let it touch the floor in the action. She put the blanket around the shaking woman and leaned down to make sure every part except her face was covered by it. "I'm going to make some tea for you, okay? It will get you warmer." Brittany said while brushing some strands of hair out of Santana's face and made her way to the kitchen. First she had to figure out where everything was. She opened random cabinets until she found the tea bags and set up the kettle.

While she waited, she let her eyes wander through the kitchen until they fell on the fridge full of notes and pictures. One showed Santana in a white summer dress with a black, kind of chubby woman standing at a beach. Santana looked breathtaking. Her hair was loose except for her bangs, which were pulled back by a matching white hair band. She looked really happy and laughed that huge smile that made Brittany's heart flutter. She took a quick glance at the couch, which was halfway turned towards the kitchen. Santana was still tucked up in the blanket, but she wasn't sleeping even if she had her eyes closed. Her eyebrows were furrowed and it seemed like she was having mental pain. She couldn't quite put her finger on it.

She turned back to check on the kettle, which was still not ready yet. She used the time to inspect the fridge door further. She felt kind of bad of looking through her stuff, but it wasn't entirely private when it was propped on the fridge door, right? ...Right. A familiar card caught her eyes. It was the invitation to today's wedding only with a little note in the bottom corner. _Please call me when you read this. We need to talk. _It was definitely Manuel's hand writing. He acted weird after Santana had gone. She knew that he had something to do with her state right know. She could feel it.

The water started to boil audibly and Brittany quickly grabbed the cup that she took out earlier to pour some hot water in. When she propped the tea bag inside, she walked to the couch table and put the cup down. Santana slowly opened her eyes but stared motionless at the wall in front of her. Brittany took a seat at the armchair and waited.

*B*S*

"He promised me," Santana said breaking the silence, nearly too quiet to understand. Her hoarse voice made her clear her throat. Santana didn't know why she told Brittany that, because Brittany couldn't use it to understand how she felt right now. But she had the urge to tell her. "He promised me he would help me," she stated again, a bit louder this time. But when the words left her mouth, she felt her throat tighten again and tears were already forming in her eyes. She hated herself for crying right now. She should have known. She heard a rustling besides her and suddenly felt the blonde's arms around her body again. She let her body relax as the tensed feeling wavered. It felt good when Brittany held her like that. She knew that she was not alone right now.

Brittany pulled away again and leaned back to the table to grab the cup. "Here." She held it in Santana's direction. "Drink this. It will make you feel better."

_You make me feel better, _Santana thought to herself. She gathered all of her strength to sit a bit more upright to take the cup from Brittany. Their fingers lightly brushed when they both had them around the cup. They bashfully looked away and Brittany let herself fall against the couch table to watch Santana once more when she took a sip. "That's really good, Brittany," she stated, surprised as she tasted the liquid again. "There is something different…" A smile was forming on her lips.

"It's a special ingredient. It's a secret. I'm not supposed to tell." Brittany made a move like she was locking her lips and throwing away the key. Santana let out a small chuckle, which caused Brittany to sigh in relief. The first goal for tonight was to make the girl laugh. Check. Brittany smiled to herself.

"Thank you, Brittany." Brittany wasn't entirely sure what she meant. Every friend would do that, right? She shot her a questioning look.

"For everything you did tonight. You left the party, didn't you?" Brittany nodded. "Why? You're Isabella's maid of honor. You were not supposed to leave the wedding so soon." She said with a guilty expression on her face.

"I heard you and your mom fighting. I don't know about what, but it seemed serious and when Manuel walked past me I just had to ask where you had gone. He wouldn't answer me, so I asked Isabella for your address. First I searched in the park and at some shops. Then your car was gone from the parking lot, so I hailed a cab… and here I am now." She didn't realize she was rambling and totally ignored Santana's question in the first place. "I was worried about you. I… when I found you earlier, I knew it was the right decision to search for you." Santana looked her straight in the eyes.

"You shouldn't have done that. You were having fun and I totally ruined your night with you running through town only to find me curled up against a wall."

"You haven't ruined it. Bella can have fun without me. And I had a great night because you were there at the party making me laugh. So…it's no big deal, San." Brittany told her sincerely. Santana got butterflies in her stomach every time she heard Brittany use _San _as her nickname. Only Mercedes called her that. It made her smile widen. She placed the cup behind her on a side table and pulled her arms around her knees again but now she was a lot warmer than she was in the hallway. Silence fell upon them, but neither seemed to mind. Brittany thought about the relief that she felt when she found Santana earlier, because she was scared that something had happened to her.

Santana thought about how much better she felt now after Brittany stepped into her apartment. But the hate for Manuel and her mother was still very present in her chest. She wanted to tell Brittany or Mercedes…someone. But she didn't know where to begin. Brittany didn't even know she was gay… So telling Brittany was probably not a good idea. Although she was almost sure that Brittany didn't mind, but she didn't want to make things awkward between them. Okay. Things were already awkward. Their touches and the lingering hugs. Oh, and the glances. Santana admitted that something was going on there, but she didn't know what exactly. Flirting? Kind of... Attraction? Hell yeah.

* * *

><p><strong>So, what do you think of the chapter? I promise you that the next one will be longer ;) There's still so much to talk about between the two of them, right? ;) <strong>


	8. Here in your arms

Brittany didn't know for how long she sat there in silence. But it didn't really matter. The only thing that mattered was Santana. And she was lying on the couch wrapped up in the blanket. Her eyes were closed and she looked peaceful, except when sometimes her head made a quick movement or her body shifted. Brittany just sat there watching her sleep. She let her mind wander. It was seriously the best decision she ever made to run after her. Something about Manuel and Isabella was different today. After the wedding – which was really beautiful by the way…at least the part she witnessed – they behaved differently. They gave her odd looks she couldn't quite understand, when they saw Santana and her dancing or speaking or laughing. But why? Santana was obviously not a real part of Manuel's family. From what Brittany could tell, Santana didn't speak one word to her father today. And after she fought with Maria and Manuel, she left. That was probably not a good sign and the reason Brittany never heard something about her. But why wouldn't she be a normal family member? Brittany wanted to know. She was going to ask her later, but she already had an assumption.

But what is she going to do now? Her feet slowly started to feel numb. She sat on the ground with her knees bent for what felt like an infinite amount of time, so she stretched out her legs under the table. When she fully stretched her knees, a horrible tingling feeling shot through her legs and she was afraid that they were going to drop off any second. She tried to knead it away but nothing worked. She pushed her body up by steadying herself on the couch table until she stood bent forward. If Santana opened her eyes now, she would be greeted with Brittany's ass right in front of her face. So Brittany kind of hoped that she wouldn't. Her legs still felt like jelly. She tried to take some steps away from the table till she reached the frame of the door that led to the hall. Brittany was sure she looked like a toddler who just started walking. She let out a sigh when she grabbed the frame. She held it tight because she was afraid that she would just fall backwards if she let it go now. The throbbing pain in her legs did not decrease when she heard a hoarse voice behind her.

"Are you leaving?" Santana asked in a low voice. Brittany turned around. Santana had her head turned in her direction and steadied herself with one hand.

"No…I…I was just about to… to…" she stuttered. She had no intention to leave and she couldn't come up with a believable excuse just now, so she had to tell her the truth. "Honestly?" Santana nodded with an adorable pout. "But don't laugh at me." Brittany stated, which brought a little smile to the brunette's face. She shook her head no. "Okay. So I was sitting there beside you…" She nearly added _watching you sleep _but she could stop herself before it was too late. "And my legs went numb so I tried to help myself by smacking them but it didn't work. So I stood up and tried to walk a little but now I can just stand here. Every time I move my foot it feels like someone shoots a bullet right through it." Santana's grin widened until she let out some contagious laugher which Brittany gladly joined in with after a moment.

Brittany watched Santana pushing aside her blanket and making her way towards her. She looked so beautiful. Her hair was disarranged just like they just had a pillow fight and her dress slightly rode up one of her legs. Santana quickly yanked it down when she caught Brittany leering. Brittany's cheeks turned red and she looked at the ground on which Santana stepped forward towards her. When Brittany's eyes noticed an outstretched hand in front of her, she wasted no time and grabbed it. Santana pulled slightly till Brittany was beside her and put her left arm around Brittany's waist to steady her.

"Okay. Easy…we don't have to rush," Santana said directly next to Brittany's ear. She shuddered at the almost-contact. Santana slowly lead her to the couch. Brittany tried not to whine because she didn't want to be considered a loser, but every single step still hurt pretty badly. After Santana pushed the blanket aside, Brittany sat down and started to make invisible circles in the air to make the distracting tingling go away. Santana sat down besides her. "You looked like a 14-month-old baby when you walked to the door." She laughed again. Brittany's heartbeat increased every time she heard the Latina laugh. Especially after what happened. It didn't even matter that she was laughing at her, as long as she kept going.

"That's not funny," Brittany told her with a pout and pushed her fist lightly against Santana's unclad shoulder. "It really hurts. I thought I would never feel my legs again."

"Oh come on. Don't be overdramatic," she giggled and pulled her right leg up to sit on it. She quickly grabbed the blanket and laid it down on both of their laps. Brittany smiled warmly. They just remained silent for a while till Brittany spoke up.

"Santana?" Brittany asked carefully when she faced the brunette. She had an inquiring expression on her face. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," she replied, but Brittany could sense the tension in her voice. Santana knew that she had to tell Brittany sooner or later that she was a lesbian and regardless what she is going to asked her now every answer involved her sexuality. So she mentally prepared herself for coming out to Brittany now.

"Okay. I really don't want you to feel offended by this, but I really want to know." Santana nodded and Brittany continued. "So…I was wondering why someone as beautiful as you could not be part of Manuel's family? I mean, you didn't even talk to your father once today and when you talked to your mother, you yelled at each other and you left. You really don't have to answer this, but why? Why are you not a part of their family?" Brittany stared at her curiously. Santana took a deep breath.

"They kicked me out in Senior year," she answered. Brittany nodded and when Santana didn't continue she just had to ask the question that was constantly in her head.

"Did they do it because you're gay?" Silence. There was no response from Santana. She knew that she was pretty obvious with her behavior, but to hear it out loud without telling it on her own made her kind of uncomfortable. But the way Brittany asked her in a totally non-accusing way, made Santana realizing that it wouldn't be too bad.

"Yes." She smiled. The huge rock that she constantly had on her shoulders since she met Brittany just disappeared. It felt like she could breathe again. "They kicked me out when I told them," she explained.

"I'm really sorry to hear that, Santana." Brittany searched for the brown eyes which were directed to the green blanket. "But you should know that I'm not going to like you less now, because I think you're a great person. I think it's disgusting to hate someone because of their sexuality or because they are different." Santana looked up into the blue eyes and smiled genuinely.

"Thanks, Britt. You have no idea how much this means to me." She let out a shaky breath that she didn't know she was holding. "It's such a relief to finally get this off of my chest."

"When did you know that you were different? Or who did you tell first?" Brittany really wanted to know that, but didn't realize she asked the questions out loud. "Oh God…I'm being so rude, sorry. You don't have to answer that."

Santana smiled. "It's no problem, Brittany. I can tell you if you want." She really wanted Brittany to be part of her life so she started telling her about Sugar:

_Santana always knew that she was different than the other girls in high school. She never had the urge to meet a cute boy and get into a relationship. The first kiss she had was in 7__th__ grade. A new boy in her class, who she met a few days before, just came up to her outside of school and quickly kissed her. Santana shoved him off of her, because she was so surprised by his action. And if she was being honest, she felt literally _nothing_. Back then she already know she found girls prettier. She joined the Cheerios in Freshmen year of high school. She felt kind of bad for checking the girls out a couple of times in the locker room. But besides spending time with some of her good friends like Sugar, she joined the Cheerios because she really liked to dance. She was popular, went to parties, but only made out with some boys a few times, even if she wished for other lips to kiss. She knew it was wrong to do that against your will, but she had to keep her reputation up. _

_When Coach Sylvester slowly became more like the devil in persona and couldn't talk without screaming and insulting everyone, she quit the Cheerios. The summer between Junior and Senior years, she slowly began to realize that it wasn't her picture of a perfect life, where she couldn't be herself. So one day, at the beginning of Senior year, she worked up her courage to tell Sugar._

"_Sugar. Can you listen to me for a second?" Santana slowly became annoyed, because every single time she tried to tell her best friend what was on her mind, Sugar found new topic to talk about. Santana started to pace around the room before dropping on her bed. "Sugar, it's important," Santana nearly begged her to listen. _

"_San, why don't you just tell me?" Sugar turned around in Santana's chair, smiling at her. Santana sat on her bed with her head down not really sure what to say or even if it was the right choice to tell her. Sugar sensed her best friend's change of mood and walked over to take a seat beside her. _

"_It's not that easy," she mumbled and looked at her hands in her lap._

"_What is it, San? Did something happen?" Sugar knew that something was going on, but couldn't quite figure it out. "You can tell me."_

"_I know that," she responded. "I'm just scared how you will react. I…I don't know where to start…" _

"_San, just tell me. I'm not going to judge you." Santana looked up and saw a glimpse of hope in her best friend's eyes._

"_Okay," she began. Sugar was now fully aware of how important this was to Santana. Sugar could sometimes get ahead of herself when she was speaking, but if she was needed, she was there for her. "So I have these feelings…I don't know how to explain them… I think I always kind of knew. I never really felt something when I was with boys. I just didn't get those feelings you're supposed to get when kissing them. But I feel them when I'm with girls. I've never really tried, but I feel it in my heart…" She had to tell those words she was always so afraid of out loud to realize that these feelings are real. She took a deep breath. "I'm gay." _

_She felt Sugar's eyes on her and saw a thinking expression on her face. The longer Sugar stared at her, the more nervous Santana got. She felt regret for telling her and wanted to run away, but she had to know what Sugar had to say to her confession. "Please say something. Please. I don't want to lose you. You're my best friend." Santana pleaded with tears forming in her eyes._

_Sugar's lips formed into a smirk. "So you think I'm hot, huh?" She wiggled her eyebrows at Santana._

_Santana coughed. She had never expected that kind of question, nor did she prepare an answer for that. "Um…NO…of course not," she quickly blurted out, which caused Sugar's smile to fall. _Fuck. _She didn't want to make her sad. "No, I mean… Sure you're hot. But I…I don't see you in that way…" she tried to explain what she meant, but failed. "So you're okay with it?" Santana asked with questioning eyes._

"_Sure." She just answered with a shrug. That was all. That was the answer to the question she had been so afraid to ask. _

"Seriously?" Brittany asked surprised. "She just said sure and went back to the computer…That was her reaction?" She giggled and Santana nodded, smiling at the memory.

"Yeah. That was all. We just went back to our normal selves after that. Sugar was crazy. I mean, she has Asperger's and pretty much told everyone what she hated about them. I liked that about her. In the end she was a great friend. After my coming out to her, I knew I wasn't ready to come out to my parents yet. I kind of guessed what their reaction would be. I was even too afraid to tell them in person." She shook her head a bit and went on after seeing Brittany knitting her eyebrows together. "I wrote them a letter. I avoided telling them, so I wrote a letter one day, laid it on the kitchen table and left for school."

"When did you give it to them?" Brittany asked.

"Umm… in the middle of Senior year."

"What did you tell them?" Brittany didn't know if she just overstepped a boundary. They only met a few days ago and saw each other two times after all, so she didn't know if it was appropriate.

"Actually…" Santana looked across the room. "I still have it somewhere…do you want to read it?"

"Really? You would want me to?" Santana nodded and stood up. The blanket nearly fell on the floor so both of them grabbed it at the same time. They smiled and Santana made her way into the bedroom. On the way she yanked down her dress once again. _Oh my God, _Brittany thought to herself when she watched Santana walking away. _She is going to be the death of me._

After a couple of moments in silence, she grabbed the empty cup of the little table besides the couch and made her way to the sink and started washing it. _Why not make myself useful in the meantime, _she thought_._ She dried it and put it back in the cabinet. When she turned around she saw Santana standing in the door frame watching her. She changed her dress with a white top and black sweatpants. Her hair was tucked up in a loose bun. She looked lovely. But Brittany totally caught her staring which made her blush a little.

"You don't have to do that, Brittany." She walked over to her and took the dish cloth out of Brittany's hands and threw it in the corner of the counter. "You're my guest."

"Oh it's no big deal…really." Brittany shrugged it off. "And actually…you didn't invite me here; I totally grabbed your keys from your purse and forced my way in here, so technically I'm a burglar." Santana laughed out loud. She grabbed Brittany's hand and led her back to the living room.

"If you're a burglar, you wouldn't have taken care of me," Santana replied softly and so full of meaning when she stopped and looked her in the eyes.

"Okay. Then I'm just a friendly one with a heart. Who wouldn't want to help a pretty woman when she needs help?" she said with a wink and took a seat on the couch next to Santana.

*B*S*

"Do you want me to read it out loud…or?" Brittany asked with Santana's letter in her hand. She wasn't entirely sure if she should just read it on her own or so that Santana could listen. She had a rough night and she didn't know how Santana would respond to her own words. Maybe it will tear open some long-forgotten wounds. Brittany didn't want that. But when Santana slowly nodded, she was relieved, but nervous at the same time. She wanted to do this piece of Santana's mind justice and was afraid that she would not. "Or maybe you could read it…it's yours after all and I feel bad reading your personal thoughts out loud…" Santana hesitated. She seemed deep in thought and internally struggling. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her bottom lip was caught between her teeth. Brittany immediately regretted her question and felt like she reached a limit… maybe Santana would be angry for suggesting…

"Okay…" came a little voice from beside Brittany. It felt like a rock fell from her heart. At least she wasn't angry with her. She handed her the envelope slowly with an encouraging smile. Santana took it and opened it carefully. She let out a breathy laugh. "Wow, I haven't read it in forever…. It's strange…" Santana unfolded it. It seemed like there was more than one page. At least two, if not more. "But can I ask you a question first?" Santana asked. Brittany quickly responded with nodding a few times. "Okay…I was wondering if you had to go through this too…? I…I mean, did you also have a problem about coming out?"

"Not really. My parents kind of guessed it when I was in kindergarten…" She chuckled. "I mean I have only dated guys and I'm attracted to them. But I also like girls… so I…I really hate labeling myself. I just take it as it comes. I don't really have any preferences…But I have never been in a real relationship with a girl…" she stated nervously. But Santana just smiled one of her huge smiles, where you could see her cute dimples. She warmed up noticeable. "Why are you smiling like that?" Brittany asked curiously.

"Oh it's nothing…really," she replied bashfully and shrugged it off. In her head, she sighed, relieved, because she wasn't entirely sure if Brittany liked girls too. But apparently she did and that made her really happy. A silence came upon them and the only sound you could hear was the paper rustling in Santana's hands. She seemed antsy. "Okay…Ready?" She asked for no particular reason. Probably to mentally prepare herself.

"Ready when you are…" Brittany answered. Santana took an audible deep breath and began:

_Mom. Dad. _

_I wrote you this letter to tell you something. I am afraid to tell you in person and that makes me really angry, but I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to be here when you opened this. I'm scared of how you will react. I know that our family is built on strong beliefs that tell us what is right and wrong. But I'm going to tell you something that will destroy your values. _

_I sat in my room yesterday. I thought to myself that this is not the life I want to live. What I lived was a lie, and even if I know that I will probably be confronted with disgust or hate, I will not change my mind. I kind of always knew that I was different. Since high school I tried to push this feeling away and keep it locked inside, but I'm not going to do it anymore. I know that this is who I am. And if I tell you now, I don't want you to throw this paper away. Please. I beg you to hear me out. I know that you will be shocked, but please only stop when you read all of it. _

_I'm gay. I like girls. And nobody can tell me otherwise. No one can tell me whom to love. And no one can tell me how to live my life. You are probably sitting there being shocked right now, because I was once your little girl and now my life is a sin. I know that you think that and I can understand that. You don't know any better. But I beg you to love me nonetheless. I need you to be there for me, to help me and to support me. You will not understand why I choose this life style, but the point is that I didn't choose this. I was born this way. _

_I really hope that you are still reading this and that you hear me out. First I tried to feel something when I was with boys. I really tried and I wanted to be straight, but I'm not. I felt nothing. You have to believe me that I really tried. I really tried and thought about this a lot. And this summer I finally realized that this not the right way to live. I told Sugar a few months ago, and she was okay with it. She still likes me and is still my best friend. I hope that you could be like her, too. That you could at least try to understand._

_I know that this is not the way you wanted me to grow up and I understand that. But I'm your daughter and I will always love you no matter what. I can't change the way I feel. I want to live like that and I hope that you will still support me nonetheless. Yesterday I sat in my room and I knew that I had to tell you. You're my parents and you deserve to know the truth. _

_Love, _

_Santana_

Santana didn't realize that tears were falling slowly down her cheeks. When she focused on Brittany, her vision became blurry, but she could see the smile on her face and the little sob that shook through her body. Why was she crying? Santana didn't want to be the one that made her cry, so she scooted closer till she could pull her down into her lap. She ran her hands through her soft, blonde hair when more sobs erupted Brittany's fragile body.

_Fuck_, Brittany thought to herself. She wasn't the one who should cry here, but lying in Santana's lap with slender fingers combing through her hair, she kind of had no choice anymore. "San?" she asked with wavering voice.

"Yes?" Santana's voice sounded hoarse. Brittany lifted her body up and immediately missed Santana's warmth. She looked her in the eyes. "That…" Her voice broke. "That was just so..." New tears started to form in her eyes. "I…I seriously had no idea that your parents are like that." Santana wiped Brittany's new tears away and slung her arms around her.

"But they are. They are exactly like that. And they reacted even worse than I expected," she said with her head on Brittany's shoulder, when everything came down on her. She had to suppress a sob, but even without the sob, tears rolled down her cheeks. "They told me all of these nasty things and just kicked me out. Just like that… they acted as if they never had a daughter." She hugged Brittany tighter than before and both of their bodies felt each sob that shook through their bodies…as if they were one. "Just like that…" Santana whispered.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Mhh… so what do you think will happen next? ;) **

**Send me a message or review to let me know what you think of this chapter. It really makes me happy to get all these kind reviews. And if I'm happy, I will try to write faster, so I would truly appreciate when you take your time to review. Have a great day/night :) **


	9. A simple touch

Santana woke up to the soothing sound of rain against her window. She let out a yawn and tried to stretch her limbs when she noticed the warm body next to her. At that moment everything that happened last night came back to her:

How her so-called family abandoned her, how she sat propped up against her apartment door when Brittany found her, how she made her tea, how she took care of her, how Brittany held her in her arms when Santana cried and how the blonde cried after Santana read out her letter.

They must have fallen asleep after that. All that Santana knew is that Brittany was right here in her arms and how that was probably the best feeling in the world. Brittany had her arm protectively around Santana's waist and held her tight. Santana smiled and adjusted the blanket that was almost completely on the floor. She tugged on the last piece, and reached and pulled slowly, not wanting Brittany to wake up. When she covered both of their bodies, she could feel the woman next to her stir. Brittany tightened her grip around Santana's torso which made Santana beam with joy. She turned her head slightly to take a look at the beautiful woman beside her. Her hair was splayed all across the pillow and her face and Santana could see Brittany's chest slowly rise and fall.

She felt bad when she saw that Brittany was still wearing the baby-blue dress that she wore yesterday. Santana could have offered her some of her clothes. She blushed when she stole a look at the lace of Brittany's black bra. It was visible because her strap fell down her shoulder. The dress was made of silk after all. First Santana regretted looking at the really tempting sight in front of her, but then she remembered Brittany checking her out last night when her dress rode up a little, so they were even now.

Brittany scrunched her face groggily when her own hair was tickling her nose. Santana didn't think twice about it and softly ran her hand over Brittany's cheek to tuck the strand of her blonde hair behind Brittany's ear. Brittany smiled sweetly at that and opened her eyes sleepily. Santana instantly looked at her apologetically for waking her up.

"Hey," Santana said innocently.

"Morning." Brittany's voice sounded hoarse, but Santana still found it adorable. As Brittany realized that her arm was practically preventing Santana from moving, she quickly took it away and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry," she apologized.

"It's no problem," Santana replied, not wanting Brittany to think that the way she held her was making her uncomfortable. "You want some coffee?" Brittany just nodded before they both discarded the blanket and sat up. "Do you want some other clothes? I could quickly grab some for you."

"No, no. It's okay. I'm probably going to leave soon, anyways."

"Oh, alright." Santana didn't let Brittany see it, but hearing that made her a little sad. She didn't want Brittany to leave so soon, even if she already stayed the whole night. She took a quick glimpse on the clock. 10:47. "Do you want pancakes?"

"Yes, I love pancakes." Brittany clapped a few times and smiled instantly.

"Good." Santana's sadness was soon replaced by a happy grin when she stated to collect all the ingredients for the pancakes. Meanwhile Brittany set the table. "You don't have to do that," Santana told her, grinning.

"Why? I made you a cup of tea yesterday and you didn't complain either," she said with a wink which made Santana blush. She quickly turned back to her pancakes. Brittany laughed at that and continued placing the plates at the table. "Can I ask you a question?" Santana nodded, so Brittany continued. "Who is that on that picture on your fridge?" Brittany pointed at the picture, she saw yesterday.

"Oh, that's Mercedes. We met in college three years ago and shared a room. She was kind of a diva at first but when we got to know each other, we became friends really quickly," Santana explained.

"Where was that picture taken?" Santana smiled because Brittany seemed like a really curious person, but she had no problem telling her about Mercedes while she continued making their pancakes.

"Mexico. It was last summer and our first vacation together. We wanted to get out of town for a while so we decided to just to leave during summer break. It was really expensive, so we couldn't stay for long. But it was really beautiful. I would love to go back one day." Brittany smiled at the new information and it seemed that Santana was truly happy thinking about that particular vacation.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Santana let out an adorable giggle at that and shook her head no.

"Oh, no! We're not together. She has a boyfriend. His name's Sam and he's working at the same firm that I'm working at. Mercedes is my best friend." She said through giggles.

"Oh, okay. Sorry," Brittany told Santana, smiling endearingly. "What happened to Sugar?"

"Oh, Sugar," Santana nearly forgot that she told Brittany her coming out to Sugar yesterday. "Sugar didn't go to college. She met a wealthy heir at high school and is currently in Italy. She's travelling around the world and is still sending me post cards every time she visits a new country. I guess she's trying to make me jealous and is indirectly telling me to find a rich woman, too, so that I can come after her." Brittany chuckled whole-heartedly. Santana placed the pancakes and the coffee at the table and they both began to eat.

"Are you trying to find a woman like that right now?" Brittany asked, terrified if she crossed a line this time.

"No." Santana answered honestly. Brittany was disappointed at that answer. She had the feeling that Santana was maybe interested in her, but apparently she thought wrong. "I'm not searching for a woman like that. I don't care if she's rich or poor. Money doesn't mean anything." It felt like a huge rock was lifted off of Brittany's shoulders. Maybe she had a chance after all.

"What kind of a woman are you looking for?"

"Mmm, I don't know. It's hard to say, I guess. I don't really have a type."

"But if you had to choose." Brittany asked again and she wouldn't stop until she knew if she was someone who matched Santana's taste.

"Oh, that's hard… I guess the look doesn't really mean that much to me. Of course I should be attracted to her, but it's more important to me that she is faithful. I need someone who takes care of me… Oh and humor is important, she should make me laugh. That's about it." Santana nodded once and took a sip of her coffee. What Santana didn't know is that Brittany was dancing in joy inside of her head. Maybe she really had a chance.

"What about her hair color?" Santana laughed which made Brittany a little bit confused. Did she say something wrong?

"You really want to know everything about me, don't you? You're very curious." Santana giggled and turned back to her pancake. Brittany blushed and tried to hide it as best as she could. But Santana noticed nonetheless. "You're cute, you know that?" she told Brittany with a grin. Brittany didn't think that it was possible to blush even more, but it was. She took her hands to her face and buried her face in it. Both women had to giggle at the situation.

Santana reached over the table and took Brittany's hands away. "Don't be shy. I was just being mean. But we really have to meet some day again, so I can ask you all these questions, too." Brittany was so happy to hear Santana's offer that she only had the strength to nod in agreement.

The two of them finished their food without any significantly embarrassing moments and put the dishes in the sink. Nobody knew what to do next but Santana decided to speak up first. "Thank you again, Brittany. For everything. You had no reason to go after me, but you did. So thank you." Santana looked at the ground sheepishly.

"You're welcome." Brittany could practically feel the tension so she stepped forward and took Santana into her arms. She held Santana tightly around her waist, trying to tell her all the things that she was afraid to admit already, "Any time."

Santana returned the hug as well. She was glad for all the moments they spent together yet. And for all the moments that will come. "See you on Thursday." Santana could feel Brittany smiling against her shoulder before Brittany pulled away.

"Right. See you on Thursday. I will write down the time and address real quick." Brittany said when she took a pen from the bowl in which Santana's keys were placed and scribbled the information down.

"Alright. I'll see you then." Brittany grabbed her purse and went to the apartment door. She turned around to see Santana smiling at her gorgeously. Brittany waved at the beautiful woman in front of her.

"Wait!" Santana probably spoke up a little bit too loud as Brittany turned around. Brittany looked at her curiously. "It's raining… and you don't have a car, so I thought maybe I could take you home," Santana offered, unsure. And as if Santana had asked for it, a loud thunder rang through her apartment. Brittany jumped a little at the sudden noise but smiled shyly when she saw Santana grinning. It made Brittany's heart flutter with joy that Santana offered to take her home.

"Thank you, but you don't have to do that, San. But maybe we should call a cab before I go outside," Brittany suggested. That gave them a little time to talk. Santana nodded and grabbed her phone to call Brittany a cab. Meanwhile Brittany walked to the window to watch the raindrops slipping down the pane. The sky was in a dark shade of grey. "I like thunderstorms," Santana stated from behind her after a while. Brittany hadn't noticed the woman coming and jerked at the voice. Santana laughed and stepped up besides her as she rested her elbows on the window sill.

"I don't…" Brittany saw Santana smile next to her.

"I kind of figured that out. Even the slightest noise scares you right now." Brittany giggled and Santana laughed louder as Brittany backed away from the window when a new flash of light illuminated the sky. Brittany dropped down on the armrest of the couch. "God, you're adorable…" Santana unintentionally said out loud which made Brittany blush.

When Santana saw Brittany ducking her head when the next thunder echoed through the room, she felt bad and walked towards her. "You alright?" she asked. Brittany just nodded, maybe a little bit too quickly. "Should I walk you to your cab? It should be here any minute now." Brittany nodded again and took the hand that Santana had offered her. Brittany grabbed her purse once again and they stepped into the small elevator. They didn't even notice that their hands were still interlocked, but nobody did a move to change that. It felt comfortable like that and Santana wanted to take Brittany's fear away.

They stepped out into the hallway and immediately saw the cab outside the building. Santana turned her head slightly because she wanted to say goodbye to Brittany again. She didn't noticed what was happening before she felt Brittany's lips touching the corner of her mouth. Brittany quickly pulled away, clearly embarrassed at what just happened. "I'm so sorry," Brittany said quietly.

"No, don't be," Santana replied instantly.

"I'm gonna go now." Brittany smiled at her guiltily.

"Bye. Take care, Britt," Santana could say before the beautiful woman stepped out into the rain. She wasn't sure what the hell just happened. Santana entered the elevator. She could still feel the little spot where Brittany's soft lips touched the corner of the lips.

When the door of her apartment closed Santana squealed in delight and jumped up and down like a total fool. But she didn't care. Even after that horrible end of the party, she spent a great night with Brittany. All of those sad thoughts were gone when Brittany made her smile. This girl was probably her personal guardian angel.

Santana cursed when she realized that she could have kissed Brittany properly if she just had turned her head a little bit more. What a missed opportunity… Santana really hoped that Brittany didn't regret the kiss. Apparently she was embarrassed about that kiss and Santana didn't want her to be.

Now that Brittany was gone, Santana had to survive the next four days without her. She made her way back to the kitchen to clean the dishes. When she was done, she took a much needed shower and slipped on some comfy clothes. She stepped into the living room and smiled as she saw the blanket from her bedroom still lying on the couch. She grabbed her phone from the table and dropped down on the couch. Brittany's sweet perfume invaded her senses. She felt like a creep when she buried her face into the pillow to breathe in the intoxicating scent. But she just couldn't stop, so she lay down on the pillow while she unlocked her phone.

23 messages and 11 voicemails. Wow, that was a new record. Most of them were from Brittany which made Santana smile to herself.

**Please call me Santana!** or **I'm really worried**. were just two of them. It made Santana feel bad for not replying that she was okay. But when she ran away she didn't think about Brittany. She didn't want Manuel to contact her. She would have never imagined that Brittany would come after her. She scrolled further through her text and had to smile at Brittany's last message:

**I don't even know why I'm searching for you now. I don't even know if we are friends. But I really hope that we are, because I want you to be happy. I only have one place to go to. I'll be at your apartment soon. I really hope that I will find you there. – Brittany**

She listened to every voicemail, one after one, and beamed the entire time, even if she felt bad for Brittany that she had to worry so much about her. When she pushed the green button one last time, her smile faded instantly as she heard the voice. It wasn't the sweet, friendly and slightly rushed voice of Brittany that she listened to the whole time. Her brother's voice sounded hoarse and automatically.

"I'm really sorry for what happened earlier. I don't know what the hell came over me. I hope that you're okay and that Brittany found you. I wish that you can trust me, now that Mom is out of the picture again. Please forgive me." Santana just clicked the red button and threw her phone at the other side of the couch. What was he even thinking? She couldn't handle him right now and she wouldn't forgive him so easily this time. He made it really hard for her to ever trust him again. If she even could forgive him ever again. She didn't want to think about her brother now.

Sooner when Brittany's voice rang through her phone everything was easier. Finally Santana had someone she could trust, besides Mercedes and Sugar. And now Manuel had to ruin everything for her. She was happy till she heard his voice.

Her phone rang at the other side of her couch. For a short moment she was debating whether she should pick up or not. But as she saw Mercedes picture on her screen, she gladly picked up. She needed her best friend right now.

"Hey, Cedes," Santana greeted with a croaky voice. She sounded like she cried for the last two hours straight, even if she didn't.

"What's wrong, honey?" Mercedes knew Santana too well to know that something was going on. "How did the wedding go?"

Santana let out a breathy laugh. "Horrible and great. What do you want to hear first?"

"The bad thing first," Mercedes prompted. "But only if you can tell me without crying, otherwise I will come over to make sure you don't do something stupid. Was it that bad?"

"Yes, but I'm okay. You don't have to come over."

"Alright. I hope you're right. Shoot."

"Mmh… okay. I tried to avoid my parents for as long as I could. Manuel was really nice to me, but I have a feeling that Isabella still doesn't like me. But that's a minor matter. When I went up on stage to congratulate them, I had to face my parents eventually. I sang the song and wanted to go back to my seat, when Mom yanked me into a little corridor. She started to yell at me and we argued pretty bad, but you know what, it didn't matter what she thought about me. I already hated her before. But then Manuel came towards us and Mom told him that is was not okay to support my lifestyle and that I should leave the wedding."

"Oh, dear lord…" Santana heard Mercedes gasp at the other end of the line. "He kicked you out, didn't he?"

"Yes, he kicked me out and I ran away. I couldn't stop crying and sat down next to a tree and just stayed there. After a while I couldn't take it to be there anymore so I drove home, but I didn't have the strength to open the door, so I dropped down and cried."

"Oh honey, you should have called me… I could have been there in a few minutes."

"I know," Santana answered honestly.

"San? You told something about a great part of the evening? It sounded pretty bad till now. What the hell was the good part?"

"Brittany," Santana said, smiling into her pillow. It took Mercedes a moment to figure out who Brittany was.

"Brittany, in like Shopping-Brittany?"

"Yep… I couldn't believe when I saw her standing in the church. We were both kind of overwhelmed to see each other again."

"Oh, that's so cute. What did you do?"

"We talked and ate and I met Puck and Quinn again. We had a lot of fun. And when I sang, she stood right in my field of vision. She kind of guided me through the song. I don't think I could have survived the ceremony and party without her."

"That girl got you bad, huh?" Mercedes laughed. Santana just shook her head at her best friend's silliness. "Did she hear you and your family fighting?" Mercedes asked more serious.

"Yes, she did." Even if this moment was the worst part of her whole evening, she couldn't stop smiling at the fact that Brittany ran after her.

"Oh no, San… Did she call you after that?" Mercedes sounded apologetic. Santana knew that her best friend felt bad for her, but she hadn't heard the whole story yet.

"Oh yes, she did. She left ten voicemails and texted me twenty-one times to be exact."

"You're kidding, right?" Mercedes asked in disbelief.

"No, I'm not kidding. She ran after me and searched for me for nearly three hours. She found me at my apartment." Santana grinned like an idiot by now.

"Oh, my god, who is this perfect human being? She left her best friend's wedding to search for you. You realized that, right?"

"Yes, I still can't believe it. She took care of me and we talked and cried and talked and then…I, I showed her the letter, that I wrote to my parents."

"No way, San! You haven't even shown it to me yet!"

"I know. And I'm sorry about that. I will show you some day…I promise," Santana tried to assure her best friend. "It was strange to read it out loud again. But Brittany figured out before that I'm gay. I didn't even have to tell her. I mean… I probably wasn't so subtle with my leering, " Mercedes had to laugh at that.

"No, you probably weren't." Santana shifted her head slightly to breathe in Brittany's scent once again. It was like a drug for her and she really should stop before she would be addicted. "San, I'm really happy for you. I hope this will work out. I mean, you deserve it after all that crap that happened."

"Thank you, Cedes, you're the best."

"Did Manuel call you after yesterday?"

"Yes. He left a voicemail. But I can't deal with him right now." Santana didn't want to think about her brother at the moment, so she thought about Brittany instead. It was most likely the better choice.

"I understand that. I will call you soon. And I really want to meet this girl, San."

"Yes, I know. But let's just wait what happens on Thursday, when I'm meeting her at the dance studio to watch her teach the kids." Santana couldn't wait to see her again. She had to find a way to kill the time till then.

"Alright, see you, girl."Mercedes said and Santana could hear her smiling.

"Bye."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thank you all so much for reading this story and for bearing with me! It really means a lot. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. **

**Please review and have a great day/night :)**


	10. You and I

Brittany took a huge gulp of water before she put the bottle back in her fridge. She stripped out of her dress as she made her way into the little bedroom and threw the piece of cloth onto the bed. She started the shower in the bathroom, waited till the water had the right temperature and let her body relax under the steam of hot liquid. It soothed her.

The last night was probably the most confusing night in a long time. On the one hand Brittany felt horrible hearing about the things that happened to Santana. She couldn't understand how people could react in a way that Santana's parents did. Brittany swore to herself that, if she ever had a child and it would have the courage to come out to her, she would support it. But most importantly she would love it like before.

On the other hand, Brittany wanted to know everything about this beautiful woman. She loved the way she spoke and the way she ran her hands through her hair when she didn't know an answer right away. Brittany had the urge to kiss her the whole night. She wanted to feel her lips on hers. But she couldn't do it, so she took all of her courage and planned to give her a soft kiss on her cheek. But nothing went as planned when Santana shifted her head in Brittany's direction. Brittany's lips landed on the corner of her mouth, which made Brittany pull away quickly. She was so embarrassed about her behavior that she wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. It felt right to kiss Santana, but Santana looked shocked when Brittany pulled away.

It was a mistake. She shouldn't have done it. Santana would most likely not even visit the dance studio. She wouldn't want to have anything to do with a woman who tried to kiss her because they just met a few days ago. It was just too much for Brittany and she thought that she had ruined everything. Brittany would understand if Santana didn't show up on Thursday. She could already imagine the weird tension when they would meet again. But apart from that Brittany had the feeling that there was something going on between the two of them, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

She rinsed the conditioner out off her hair and grabbed the towel from the rack to wrap it around her head. Brittany stepped out and her skin immediately formed goosebumps all over her body. She dried and dressed herself as soon as possible. She could hear the soft sound of her phone in her purse and grabbed it from her bed. There was one new message.

**I think we ARE friends after everything that happened last night… ;) – Santana **

Brittany didn't know what Santana's text referred to, so she quickly checked all the messages she sent her last night. She blushed when she read through the embarrassing texts and stopped at her last one.

**I don't even know why I'm searching for you now. I don't even know if we are friends. But I really hope that we are, because I want you to be happy. I only have one place to go to. I'll be at your apartment soon. I really hope that I will find you there. – Brittany**

Brittany beamed when she read Santana's reply once again. She sent it at 1:44 pm. That meant after the kiss. Maybe she wasn't that mad at Brittany about the kiss. Brittany really hoped so because what they had felt special and she didn't want to give this up just yet.

**I'm glad. See you on Thursday, San.** Brittany replied and ended her text with the phrase **Your friend Brittany. ;)** She hoped that this wasn't too much. Maybe it was too much to refer to Thursday. Maybe she shouldn't have added that. She felt her phone vibrating in her hand without making that annoying noise. She already had it unlocked, so it stayed silent.

**Your friend Santana can't wait to see you. ;) **

Brittany laughed at Santana's goofiness and made her way to the living room. She cursed when she plopped down on her pulled the remote control from under her spine and turned on her TV to watch some random movie that was almost over.

*B*S*

"Alright, I will call you back as soon as I get Ms. Berry's approval. Have a nice day." Santana hated to speak to their clients like that. All that fake friendliness was getting on her nerves. But she needed this job and she wanted to make something out of her life. So she had to do her best.

"Santana?" Santana turned around to see Sam standing in front of her desk, smiling at her. "Hey," he greeted.

"Hi, what's up?" Santana replied. She was smiling because it was finally Thursday. She would see Brittany today, so she wanted to get out of here as fast as possible.

"Not much. I just wanted to see if everything is going well…" What was that supposed to mean? Sam Evans making small talk with Santana Lopez?

"Ehmm, yes, everything's fine. What is wrong, Evans? You have something on heart, haven't you?" Sam looked surprised, just like he cursed mentally for being caught.

"Umm, I'm supposed to ask you if you and Brittany want to have dinner with us… Next Saturday at our house…" he asked hesitantly. Santana couldn't believe what she just heard.

"Mercedes told you about Brittany? I only met her two times and Mercedes is already planning a double-date?" Santana was furious. She knew that her best friend was a blabbermouth, but telling her boyfriend about her crush was a bit too much. They didn't even have a date yet.

"I'm sorry, Santana. She told me to ask you, I…"

"It's okay, Sam. I will have to call her to have a serious talk with her. It's not your fault."

"Alright," Sam said, visibly relieved. "So how's it going with you and Brittany?"

"Come on, Sam! I'm not gonna talk to you about that! If Mercedes wants to know she should call me herself." Sam moved back from Santana's desk a little when Santana raised her voice. It seemed that he finally realized that he wasn't going to get information out of the woman.

"Alright, I'll tell her that…"

"Santana!" Rachel's voice rang through the office. Santana immediately rolled her eyes at her and smiled when she saw Sam in front of her doing the same.

"What is it, Berry?" Rachel was coming towards them with small, but energetic steps.

"I would prefer the term Rachel or Ms. Berry," she stated. Santana couldn't believe that her boss still wasn't used to Berry as her name by now. Santana called her that her entire life.

"What do you want, Rachel?" Santana emphasized her name more than usual. She liked to mock her boss.

"Thank you, Santana, for taking my criticism seriously. I really appreciate it," Rachel smiled proudly to herself. "I was wondering if you wanted to take over my view of the real estate in Baker Street. I was very pleased with your work last Saturday and I want to reward you with my next appointment tomorrow. So what do you say?"

"Yes, of course! I would love to, Berry… ehm, I mean Rachel. Thank you!" Santana was so happy that she didn't even realize that she left her chair and was tightly hugging the smaller woman. She quickly pulled away again at the sudden insight.

"Well," Rachel pulled down her blazer carefully to remove the visible wrinkles. "I didn't expect that kind of reaction, but I'm glad to make you break out of your tough façade. You are allowed to leave now to prepare yourself for your big day tomorrow. Please represent our agency well. Good luck." And with that, Rachel moved back into her office. Santana fist-pumped the air and instantly grabbed her bag to leave.

"Bye, Santana. Spend a great evening with Brittany!" Sam shouted after her before Santana could leave through the door. She turned around, a serious expression on her face.

"Sam, just…don't, okay?" She shook her head at him and left.

*B*S*

Brittany was already preparing her next lesson. The kids would be here soon and she wanted to have everything ready to start. She plugged her iPod into the speakers and scrolled through her songs till she found the one that she was searching for.

"Brittany?" came a little voice behind her. It was definitely Santana, by the amazing scent that invaded her senses. Brittany instantly smiled and turned around. She really did come to watch. Even after that embarrassing incident on Sunday.

"Hey," Santana greeted friendly, fidgeting with her phone in her hands. Brittany took in her full appearance. She was wearing a tight, black skirt with a white blouse tucked into it. She was most likely just coming from work. Brittany thought that she looked breathtaking. No, really, Brittany could barely even get out a "Hey" in response.

"I dropped by earlier because my boss told me that I could leave," Santana said. Brittany smiled because it meant that Santana didn't even take the extra time to change her clothes.

"That's great," Brittany told her. "I was just preparing the lesson, but I'm almost finished."

"You need some help?" Santana asked. Brittany thought about it for a second before she took the keys from her purse.

"Mhm, you could unlock the changing room for the kids, if you don't mind," Brittany suggested. Santana nodded as Brittany searched for the right key and held it towards Santana, who took it.

Brittany thanked Santana quickly after she returned and laid the keys back next to Brittany's purse. "So…" Santana began, "what song are the kids dancing to?" Brittany laughed and shook her head at Santana.

"No, I'm not gonna tell you. But I'm sure you'll love it. Well, at least the kids are obsessed with that song. But I'm not quite sure about you. You'll have to wait and see," Brittany answered with a wink.

"Alright." Santana was almost positive that this was probably a really bad song that they will be dancing to.

"Santana?" Brittany asked, unsure. Santana just hummed in response before Brittany continued, "I've been thinking about Sunday a lot and I… I just wanted to tell you that I'm really, really sorry about that kiss…I didn't want that to happen at all, and…" Santana giggled and held her right hand up in response.

"Brittany, please don't worry about that. It was no big deal, alright?" Brittany nodded, quickly wanting to forget about that incident. She was glad that Santana wasn't mad at her.

"But I was wondering," Santana spoke up again after a moment of silence, "if you would go on…"

"Hey, Ms. P!" A little girl's voice rang through the dance studio. Santana and Brittany flinched at the sudden noise and Santana cursed in her mind at the intruder. She was so close to ask Brittany.

"Hi, Emily. How's it going?" Brittany asked the little blonde girl. She looked at Santana apologetically before kneeling down to meet the girl at eyelevel.

"I'm great, thank you. How are you?" Santana giggled at the little girl's behavior, which made Emily shoot her a questioning look.

"I'm really good, Emily. You're here earlier than usual."

"Yeah, I know. My mom had to drop me off earlier because she has an interview for a new job, or something like that."

"Oh right, she told me about that." Brittany remembered Emily's mom telling her about a new job application. "Hey, Emily, why don't you go to the changing room to get ready, huh? The others will be here soon." Emily nodded and skipped back to the corridor with her bouncing bag on her back.

"She's cute." Santana stated from behind which made Brittany turn around, beaming at her.

"Yeah, she really is. And very friendly, too. But everyone in my class is cute and friendly, you'll see." Brittany checked her watch and noticed that the other kids would arrive any minute now. She heard the door of the studio open right at this moment and saw three giggling girls directly entering the changing room. Mrs. Howard, Julie's mom, waved at Brittany politely and left after saying her goodbyes to the three girls.

"Are there only girls in your class?" Santana asked curiously.

"No, there is one boy. His name's Jimmy. He's such a sweetheart. You'll like him."

"If you say so," Santana replied, laughing. She never had a really good connection with kids. Since she was a teenager, she couldn't understand how people could deal with children all day long. And she couldn't believe that she was like them when she was little.

"Brittany?" a woman, probably in her mid-thirties asked behind her. Next to her stood a little boy with curly brown hair who held his mother's hand shyly. He had a little bandage around his wrist.

"Hi, Kate," Brittany greeted the black-haired woman friendlily before noticing the little boy's hand. "Oh, god, Jimmy, how did that happen?" Brittany asked, worried, as she leaned down to take a closer look.

"I fell down from the swing yesterday and now the doctor told me that I can't dance anymore…" Jimmy told Brittany with tears welling up in his eyes.

"No, that's not true," Kate interrupted, "he can still dance. He just needs to take a break for like three weeks till everything is healed. But he doesn't want to miss out on the lessons, so I wanted to ask you if he is allowed to watch anyway."

"Of course you can watch, Jimmy. It's no problem and you can still come here, alright?" Jimmy nodded timidly. "Come on, I want to show you someone." Brittany took Jimmy's hand and shot his mother a reassuring look to show her that she can leave now. She smiled at Brittany and left the studio.

"This is Santana, you can sit with her today. She's just watching, too." Santana dropped down on one knee and stretched out her hand.

"Hi Jimmy, nice to meet you." He took Santana's hand hesitantly before smiling at her.

"Nice to meet you, too." Santana smiled at his adorability. "Britt? Where do we need to sit to see everything?" Before Brittany could answer, Jimmy already tugged at Santana's hand

"I will show you." Santana laughed and winked at Brittany as the other girls slowly entered the studio. Santana and Jimmy took a seat in the back of the studio to have a great view over the whole dance floor.

"Alright, girls." Brittany clapped her hands once to get their attention. There were seven girls in colorful t-shirts and tops with cute leggings and dancing shoes. The girls were probably all around six years old, so all in all they looked adorable.

"I want you to meet someone. This one over there is Santana." Brittany pointed at Santana who already took a seat on the floor. Santana waved friendlily. "She's a really good friend of mine and I invited her over here so that she can watch you dance today, what do think about that?" The girls cheered and looked at each other disbelievingly.

"It's the perfect opportunity to show what you've learned so far. So, do your best and don't embarrass me in front of her," Brittany said with a wink in Santana's direction. Santana could see how Jimmy's head beside her dropped down sadly.

"Hey, everything alright, little man?" she asked softly. Jimmy just shook his head slowly. Santana could see a tear rolling down his cheek. It broke her heart so she took her thumb to wipe it away. Jimmy looked at her incredulously. "You know what? I know exactly how you feel. In high school I tore a muscle in my feet and I wasn't allowed to dance for more than a month. I was a cheerleader at that time and it was like torture for me to just watch. But I realized that I could still help the coach to improve the choreography. You can do that, too, right? You can help Ms. P and the girls to make your performance even more perfect than it already is. And don't be sad that I can't see you dance, because I'm pretty sure you're the best dancer out of all of them," Santana whispered the last part so that the girls couldn't hear her. Jimmy giggled and nodded at Santana with shining eyes.

"Great." Santana ruffled his curly hair and laughed before turning to the group of girls a few meters away from her. She caught Brittany staring at her adoringly. When Brittany came back to reality, she blushed and hurried to the speakers to start the song.

_I threw a wish in the well,__  
>Don't ask me, I'll never tell<em>_  
>I looked to you as it fell,<em>_  
>and now you're in my way<em>

Santana laughed wholeheartedly when she recognized the song, like really laughed. She should have thought about a song like that. It seemed like a song that Brittany would pick. The girls started to dance happily. Brittany was also laughing at Santana's reaction. Santana gave Brittany a thumbs up for the song choice and went back to watching the kids dance.

They all looked adorable, especially when they sang along with the chorus.

_Hey, I just met you,__  
>and this is crazy,<em>_  
>but here's my number,<em>_  
>so call me, maybe?<em>

Santana couldn't stop smiling during the rest of the performance. At least the part that they had finished so far. Jimmy and Santana clapped and hollered when Brittany stopped the music. The little girls smiled bashfully and turned back to Brittany.

"That was a great start, everyone!" she complimented. "We're going to try to finish the second verse today," Brittany announced as she walked towards Santana and Jimmy so that the little dancers had a better look at her teacher. "We'll start like this," Brittany took her arms up in the air and crossed them over her head. The girls followed closely behind to mimic her.

Santana couldn't help but stare at the visible part of Brittany's stomach and hipbones between her grey sweat pants and her white, loose top. Why hadn't she noticed before that Brittany's top was slightly see-through and let Santana catch a sight of her black bra? She already had the kind of thoughts that you're not supposed to have in a room full of six-year-old children. Santana quickly turned back to watch them dance. It would be a better choice to watch the girls than Brittany.

"Five, six, seven, eight…" Brittany counted as the girls danced to the non-existent music. It seemed like it was really easy to dance to, but who would want the children to dance impossible choreography? They should have fun dancing. Santana noticed Jimmy trying to follow the single steps as well as he could with his hurt wrist. Brittany was right. Santana really liked him. He was adorable.

"Alright, ladies. That was great. I think we should take five minutes to recover." Brittany announced, heading into Santana's direction. Jimmy looked sadly as the girls left the room without him.

"Come on, Jimmy. Go after them," Santana pushed his shoulder lightly before he jumped up to follow them.

"You're really great with kids, you know that?" Brittany sat down next to Santana, who just stared at the ground, shaking her head. "Yes, you are! I don't know what you told Jimmy before we started dancing, but you made him smile. It really means a lot to me, because I can't stand seeing any kid sad during my class. So thank you, San."

"It no problem, really. He's a great boy so it wasn't that hard to cheer him up. You were right when you told me that I would like him." Santana said with a grin.

"I'm always right. Be right back, I'm just gonna grab my water." Brittany explained when she jumped up to jog through the room to her purse. Santana's back started to hurt a bit so she decided to follow Brittany.

"Brittany!" Santana came walking towards her slowly. "Call Me Maybe? Really?" she said through a giggle. Brittany let out a contagious laughter.

"It was the kids' choice, I had no influence over it."

"Oh come on, you're their teacher. How can you stand to listen to this song for more than ten times a week?" Santana asked.

"I have no idea. All that I know is that I get in a really great mood when I listen to that song, even if it's horrible," Brittany tried to explain.

"True," Santana mumbled, which made Brittany laugh again. "I wanted to ask you something…"

"Miss P!" Emily shouted. Brittany turned her head to see the eight kids gathered around them in the studio. "Can we go on now?" Santana groaned in frustration. Why are these kids so motivated?

"Don't forget your question, San," Brittany spoke into her ear softly. It made Santana shiver. When she saw Jimmy in the corner of her eye, she stretched her hand out enough for him to grab it.

"Come on, little man," Santana lead Jimmy to her previous place and they both sat down again to watch the girls dance. After fifteen minutes and three repeats of _Call Me Maybe, _Santana and Jimmy applauded the group one last time and stood up.

"Bye Miss P." and "See you on Saturday, Miss P." rang through the studio before the little dancers left the room. Jimmy saw his mother standing in the corridor and waved at her happily. He turned around to say goodbye to Brittany and then hugged Santana around her waist. As if it was a reflex, Santana hugged him back with one arm and ruffled his hair with her other hand. Brittany beamed with joy when she witnessed their kind gesture.

Santana let go and kneeled down in front of him, "Take care of your arm, Jimmy." The boy nodded immediately. "Good. See you around, alright?" Jimmy hummed in response and waved at both women before he left the studio with his mom.

"This right here…" Brittany gestured her arm between Santana and the direction Jimmy had left, "was the cutest thing I've ever seen." Santana giggled in response.

"He's a great boy," Santana said when she watched the other kids wave at them as they left with their parents.

"And you're a great woman, too." Brittany countered honestly. Silence fell upon them when all the children had left. Brittany started to collect her stuff and put it into her purse. She was just about to unplug her iPod when she remembered Santana's question again. "What did you want to ask me earlier…?"

Santana couldn't even speak at this moment. She couldn't bring this question to her lips, so she decided to do something different. It was like a sudden idea that she couldn't resist anymore. She took Brittany's arm from behind and pulled her towards her so that there were at eyelevel. Thank God, her high heels made this possible. Brittany let out a gasp as Santana slowly lowered her lips towards Brittany's, but they didn't touch yet.

Santana pushed Brittany carefully but with enough force up against the wall. Brittany's heart was pumping so fast, it felt like she was going to have a heart attack as Santana cupped her cheeks.

Santana hot breath tickled Brittany's ear. "I'm going to kiss you now," she breathed seductively with her hands still cupping Brittany's face. Brittany nodded her head furiously, which caused Santana's smile to widen.

Santana pushed forward and pressed her lips hard against Brittany's.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yayy, a kiss and an early update, everyone! :D**

**What do you think about that? I hope you all like the chapter and enjoyed the little dance lesson. ;)**

**I'm kind of depressed right now because my team just got kicked out of the European Soccer Championship. But they played like shit, so it's okay. Maybe you could leave me some nice reviews about the chapter to cheer me up. ;)**

**Have a great day/night, everyone!**


	11. Kiss me

_Santana's hot breath tickled Brittany's ear. "I'm going to kiss you now," she breathed seductively with her hands still cupping Brittany's face. Brittany nodded her head furiously, which caused Santana's smile to widen._

_Santana pushed forward and pressed her lips hard against Brittany's. _

Both women gasped at the sensation. Adrenaline shot through their bodies. Santana pressed her body flush against the blonde and ran her hands along Brittany's jaw and neck. Their hearts were hammering fast. Blood was pumping through their veins.

Brittany pulled Santana's lower lip between her own, sucking softly. Santana moaned at the desire that was building up inside of her.

Brittany's hands found their way around Santana's neck to pull her even closer. Both women couldn't believe that this was happening right now. A few days ago Brittany thought that she ruined everything by planting a kiss on the corner of Santana's mouth, and now Santana was kissing her so full of need that Brittany was sure that she wouldn't be able to stop, if they would keep going. She reluctantly pulled away. Santana placed a sweet peck on her lips before resting her forehead against Brittany's.

"You can't believe how long I wanted to kiss you like that," Santana whispered, which made Brittany giggle.

"Oh, I guess I do, San," she replied, smiling at her. "I really thought that I ruined everything by kissing you on Sunday. I was even afraid that you wouldn't come today…" Brittany admitted.

"No! I wanted to see you so badly after you left. And that kiss made me realize how much I've wanted to kiss you," Santana said softly before pressing their lips together once again. "And I'm so happy that you kissed me back."

"Why wouldn't I kiss you back? Your lips are so…" she tilted her head slightly to catch Santana's lips in hers, "kissable," she murmured against Santana's mouth. "What was the question that you wanted to ask me earlier?" Brittany pulled away with a grin on her face.

"Oh that… I, I didn't plan to kiss you so soon, you know? We just met one week ago, but this feels so right. I wanted to ask you out on a date before I kissed you. So, what do you say? Will you go out with me?" Santana asked nervously. Her heart was beating so fast in her chest, but Brittany nodded instantly.

"Of course I will, San! You didn't really think that I would say no, right?" Brittany said as she hugged Santana tightly. "So when do you have time?"

"I don't really care when, as long as I can see you then. How about tomorrow? Or Saturday?" Santana suggested.

"Mmh, let me see…" Brittany walked to her purse to check her time planner. "I have to work till 7 pm tomorrow, so I could be ready by 8:00 or 8:30. And I have the night shift on Saturday so I only start around 8 and won't be back till late at night. So I guess tomorrow is the better choice depending on what you have planned for us," Brittany suggested.

"Alright, tomorrow it is. I'm gonna pick you up around 8:30 then. You just have to tell me your address." Brittany grabbed a piece of paper from her planner and wrote down her address before handing it to Santana.

"Thank you," Santana said as she put the note into her purse. "I've gotta go now. I will see you tomorrow, or do you need help with anything?" Santana asked as she closed the zipper of her purse.

"Oh, no everything's fine. You can leave, if you want." Brittany took a few steps closer to Santana to close the gap between their bodies.

"I really don't want to leave you right now, but I need to have a serious talk with my best friend," Santana explained, giggling when she noticed Brittany coming closer each second. "I will tell you tomorrow, alright?" Santana could barely speak out before Brittany pressed her lips against Santana's once more. Santana's breath caught in her throat when she felt Brittany's soft lips moving against hers. Brittany pulled away and hugged her for a couple of moments.

"I will see you tomorrow, San," Brittany said with a wink as Santana reluctantly walked towards the exit. Santana looked over her shoulder and waved one last time before leaving the building, smiling like an idiot.

*B*S*

When Santana started the engine of her car, she immediately pressed play on her iPod and put it on shuffle. She instantly recognized the beat which was blasting out of her speakers.

_Everybody,__  
><em>_rock your body,__  
><em>_everybody, rock your body right,__  
><em>_Backstreet's back alright._

Santana sang the last line as she drove out of the parking lot and onto the street. She loved the Backstreet Boys when she was a teenager and recently discovered the magic of the 90's music. She knew nearly every lyric by heart and never missed a line.

_Oh my god we're back again__  
><em>_brothers, sisters everybody sing__  
><em>_gonna bring the flavor, show you how__  
><em>_got a question for you better answer now_

Santana smiled like a fool when she put on her sunglasses and headed into the direction of Mercedes's house. She was swaying from side to side as the chorus came on. She sang along at the top of her lungs as she stopped at a red traffic light.

_Am I original - yeah,__  
>am I the only one - yeah,<em>_  
>am I sexual - yeah,<em>_  
>am I everything you need<em>_  
>you'd better rock your body now<em>

_Everybody - yeah,__  
>rock your body - yeah,<em>_  
>everybody, rock your body right,<em>_  
>Backstreet's back alright.<em>_  
>alright.<em>

She fist pumped the air at the last line. She checked if anybody noticed her awkward dance and sing-along and ducked her head when she saw an elderly lady walking past her car. Santana laughed at her own goofiness and quickly stepped on the gas when the light turned green to leave as soon as possible.

_Now throw your hands up in the air__  
>and wave 'em around like you just don't care.<em>_  
>If you wanna party let me hear you yell,<em>_  
>'cause we've got it goin' on again<em>

_Am I original – yea,__  
>am I the only one – yea,<em>_  
>am I sexual – yea,<em>_  
>am I everything you need,<em>_  
>you'd better rock your body now.<em>

Deciding that it was indeed time for the next song she changed the tune. It was also an older song but it had a much softer melody.

_Kiss me out of the bearded barley__  
>Nightly, beside the green, green grass<em>_  
>Swing, swing, swing the spinning step<em>_  
>You wear those shoes and I will wear that dress.<em>

Santana pictured Brittany in the dance studio, dancing effortlessly. She couldn't wait to see her tomorrow after what happened today. It was the best decision Santana had ever made, to just kiss her without thinking about the consequences. _**  
><strong>__  
>Oh, kiss me beneath the milky twilight<em>_  
>Lead me out on the moonlit floor<em>_  
>Lift your open hand<em>_  
>Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance<em>_  
>Silver moon's sparkling<em>_  
>So kiss me<em>

_Kiss me down by the broken tree house__  
>Swing me upon its hanging tire<em>_  
>Bring, bring, bring your flowered hat<em>_  
>We'll take the trail marked on your father's map<em>

Santana didn't even realize that she arrived at her best friend's house already, so she reluctantly stopped the engine and therefore her music. She stepped out into the evening sun. It looked like it would rain again. She climbed the few steps to the front door and rang the bell twice. After a couple of moments, a very stressed Mercedes opened the door facing away from Santana.

"Sam, I told you already to take the garbage outside!" she screamed up the stairs. A mumbled "Alright" followed closely after. Santana grinned to herself as she suppressed a giggle.

"Oh, hey there, San," Mercedes took her into a bone-crushing hug when she noticed her best friend. "How do I owe this pleasure, honey?" Mercedes pulled away and looked at her, worried. "Everything is alright, isn't it?"

Santana put on the best smile she could muster before asking, "Do I look worried to you right now?"

"No, you don't," Mercedes mumbled and her concerned face disappeared nearly completely as she took Santana's hand to yank her towards her kitchen. "It's because of Brittany, isn't it?" she asked, wiggling her eyebrows. "I know that you went to meet her at the dance studio today."

Santana ducked her head bashfully, not wanting to tell her about their afternoon yet. "Yes, I did. But before I tell you, I have to ask you something…" After Santana let Mercedes to think about it, she pushed her fist against Mercedes's upper arm. Hard.

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!" Santana yelled. Mercedes had a shocked expression on her face as she stroked her arm gently to cure the pain. Mercedes totally didn't expect that. "What gives you the right to tell Sam about Brittany and me? I told you in private, Cedes! And today I'm sitting at my desk, minding my own business and Sam asks me to go on a double date? A FUCKING DOUBLE DATE, Mercedes! You know what I think about double dates? They are a fucking pain in the ass!" Mercedes's eyes widened more every second before she found the ability to speak again.

"Double dates aren't that bad…" she mumbled and cried out in pain when another punch hit her arm.

"THAT'S NOT THE FUCKING POINT!"

"I know, San. I know. Woah, chill out. You're totally overreacting right now, okay?" Mercedes tried to calm Santana down.

"No, I'm not. You had no right to tell him about Britt."

"Oh… Britt is it already?" Mercedes asked, clearly teasing the brunette now. Santana shot her a death glare as she went on.

"Yes, I call her Britt already, but you're missing the point in this conversation."

"No, it's about Brittany, isn't it…?" Mercedes asked, smiling.

"Cedes, just stop it! I'm talking about your freaking blabbermouth. I don't want the whole firm to know about my love life, alright? I want to keep this private…"

"Alright, I will keep that in mind. Sorry," she apologized halfheartedly as she rolled her eyes.

"And now I'm not sure if I should tell you about my afternoon anymore…" Santana teased Mercedes by walking towards the front door. She turned the door knob when she heard her best friend begging behind her.

"Tell me, San! Please tell me what happened today! Please, I need to know!" Santana imagined Mercedes to be crawling on the floor already but was disappointed when Mercedes was still standing at the foot of the stairs. Santana added a few seconds for good measure before answering.

"We kissed and we're going on a date tomorrow." And with that, and with Mercedes's mouth hanging open, Santana shut the door and walked towards her car as she smiled to herself for successfully mocking her best friend. She was most likely standing at the foot of the stairs being shocked.

What Santana didn't know was that Mercedes was already running up the stairs towards Sam screaming, "They kissed! They kissed!" at the top of her lungs.

*B*S*

"And then we kissed! She just went up to me and kissed me, Mommy! Can you believe that?" Brittany was talking on the phone to her mother for a good fifteen minutes now. She needed that much time to swoon over Santana and to tell her how finally everything led to their kiss.

"Honey, that is so amazing! How did it feel to kiss her?"

"MOM!" Brittany shrieked into her phone, clearly shocked about her mother's question.

"Sorry, baby. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. And honestly, I know how it feels…" Brittany's mouth stood wide open and she couldn't even form a coherent reply to what her mother just said, so Mrs. Pierce continued. "I remember that one time in band camp when I met this beautiful girl and we…"

"God, MOM! STOP IT ALREADY!" Brittany managed to interrupt her mom. "Too much information! I'm your daughter, for God's sake!"

"As if you didn't tell me about your love life with a girl for the last fifteen minutes…"

"Yeah, but it's different," Brittany mumbled when she sat down on her couch with a water bottle in her hand. She tried to screw open the cap with one hand but it didn't really work. So she took her phone between her cheek and shoulder to use her other hand to open it.

"No, it's not different. But what did you do after you kissed, honey? I want to know everything," her mom prompted.

"Santana asked me out on a date. She's picking me up tomorrow after work…" Brittany answered after she took a gulp of her water. She lay down on the couch after she placed the bottle back on the table.

"That's great! You already know what you are going to wear?"

"I didn't really think about it yet. But I don't even know what we are going to do, so… I honestly have no idea," Brittany began to panic silently in her head. Maybe she should have asked Santana what they were going to do on their date. "Mom, what am I supposed to wear?"

"Baby, please don't freak out now," Mrs. Pierce said in a soothing voice, "you're going to text her and ask her if you should wear anything special tomorrow and if she's vague, you'll take a pair of skinny jeans and a pretty, but casual top. You're never wrong with that," she suggested. Brittany's heartbeat slowed down noticeably. She took a deep breath.

"Thank you, Mom. I'll keep that in mind," Brittany told her honestly.

"It's no problem, Brittany. You're going to call me on Saturday to tell me how it went, alright?"

"Of course I will, Mommy."

"Good girl," Mrs. Pierce laughed, "We miss you, baby. Come and visit us soon, please."

"I'll try. I miss you, too."

"Bye, Brittany. I love you."

"Love you, too, Mom. Bye."

*B*S*

Santana was walking up and down in her bedroom. She just couldn't find anything to wear, so she kind of started to panic half an hour ago. When Brittany texted her last night, asking what they are going to do tonight, she answered kind of vaguely. Maybe she should just have told Brittany what they are going to do. So she would know what Brittany would wear on their date. But no, stupid Santana didn't tell her and now she didn't want to be under- or overdressed.

Clothes were thrown through the room till the pile of dresses, tops, and skirts slowly gained height. She was panicking now and she had to leave in about twenty minutes. Fuck, she'd have to redo her hair, Santana noticed as she passed the mirror once again.

She should be wearing something casual. Yes. Nothing too boring, but sexy.

Within fifteen minutes, she put on white skinny jeans, a black tight tank top and matching high heels. Like, really high heels. She wanted to be nearly as tall as Brittany so she hoped that Brittany would be wearing flats tonight. There was just some time to throw on her leather jacket and to grab her bag before she headed to the parking lot.

*B*S*

Santana would be coming any second now and Brittany sat on her couch fidgeting with her keys. She had been ready for ten minutes now and really wanted to see her date.

Her phone rang in the purse that was laying in her lap so Brittany jumped at the sudden noise. She wondered if Santana called her, but her thought was gone when she saw Isabella's name on the screen.

"Hey," Brittany greeted friendlily. She took a quick look at her clock. "How was your honeymoon? You back already?"

"Yeah, we came back this morning and slept till now. It was perfect, Brittany. The Bahamas are so beautiful. I'll show you the pictures if you want. You should come over," Isabella suggested.

"I'm sorry, Bella, but I can't. I have plans," Brittany apologized. She really wanted to see her best friend again, but to be honest she wanted to see Santana more. "Maybe next week."

"Oh, alright. Do you have to work tonight or…?" Brittany felt badly when she listened to her friend's slightly disappointed voice.

"No, I don't. I just came back from work. I have a date…" Brittany told her, unsure. She didn't want Isabella to know that she was going out with Santana, because she didn't know how Santana or Isabella would react if Brittany told her.

"A date? Who is it, Britt?" Isabella asked excited. Right at that moment the door bell rang and Brittany probably never sprinted to the door faster than today.

"One second," she told Isabella. Brittany straightened her top and opened the door with a huge smile. Santana looked beautiful as she held the strap of her bag with both of her hands sheepishly.

"Hey," Brittany mouthed, "one second," Brittany held her index finger in case Santana wouldn't figure out what Brittany meant. Santana nodded and stepped inside Brittany's flat after she waved her in.

"Bella, I'm gonna tell you another time, alright? How about Wednesday afternoon?"

"Yeah, okay. But then you're going to tell me everything about him, B," Isabella prompted. Brittany felt her heart drop at that. What if Isabella didn't want her to date a woman? Brittany had never dated a woman before, but her best friend knew that she also checked out girls and found them attractive. They would have to talk about that.

"Of course, Bella. See you." After Isabella said goodbye as well, she hung up and walked into her living room, where Santana had dropped down on her couch.

"Hey," Brittany greeted shyly. "You look great, San." Santana blushed at that.

"You, too, Britt. You realize that we're dressed like Ying and Yang, right?" Santana asked, giggling. Brittany inspected both of their outfits. Brittany was wearing black skinny jeans and a white top and Santana wore white jeans and a black top. And to Santana's benefit, Brittany wore flats which made them look like they were both the same height.

"Oh, God, you're totally right. I haven't noticed that till now. That's so cool," Brittany said happily as she put her phone and keys into her purse. "Shall we get going?" Brittany asked when she stretched out her hand, hoping that Santana would grab it. Santana nodded and took the hand right away. She let Brittany pull her up to eyelevel. They stared into each other's eyes before Brittany planted a feather-light kiss to Santana's cheek. "Then let's go."

Brittany still held Santana's hand and dragged her towards the door.

"Wow, somebody is excited for tonight," Santana laughed at Brittany's impatience.

"Oh, as if you aren't excited… You asked me out, remember?" Brittany wiggled her eyebrows at Santana.

"True," Santana laughed and followed Brittany down the stairs to Santana's car, where she held the door open on the passenger's side. As Santana started the engine, the chorus of the Backstreet Boys "Larger Than Life" blasted through the speakers.

_Fuck_, Santana thought. She instantly turned the sound down before Brittany could notice what song she was playing earlier.

"Hey! What are you doing? You don't simply turn off the Backstreet Boys, Santana," Brittany said, deadly serious. Santana didn't know if she was joking or not, but she reluctantly turned up the volume once again.

_All you people can't you see, can't you see__  
><em>_How your love's affecting our reality__  
><em>_Every time we're down__  
><em>_You can make it right__  
><em>_And that makes you larger than life_

Brittany hit every note while she sang the chorus. Santana had been so impressed by Brittany's sweet voice that she didn't even noticed that she joined in at the bridge.

_Looking at the crowd__  
><em>_And I see your body sway, come on__  
><em>_Wishin' I could thank you in a different way, come on__  
><em>_'Cause all of your time spent keeps us alive_

They both were laughing hard when the next chorus started. They kept singing to each other as if they never did something different. They listened to all kinds of 90's hits and sang at the top of their lungs before Brittany asked where they were even going.

"Ehmm, I really thought a lot about this and I don't know if that is too typical for a first date, but I thought about watching a movie. But not a movie theater that you think of. We're watching a movie at a drive-in cinema…" Santana told Brittany uncertainly. Brittany's face lit up instantly. Even more than before.

"Are you serious? I always wanted to do that, San. Oh, God, I can't wait! How long is it going to take?" Brittany was bouncing up and down in her seat and a rock was lifted off of Santana's shoulders. She never would have expected that kind of reaction, but she was so glad that Brittany liked her plan.

"About five minutes, I guess. I've never been there before either, so I have no idea how that's going to be."

"San, you're the best. Seriously. How did you even come up with that idea?" Brittany asked, astonished.

"I have no idea, to be honest," Santana answered, "I guess I always wanted to do that."

"Me, too. It's going be so much fun! What movie are we going to watch?"

"Ehm, I did some research and they're showing The Hunger Games tonight. You ever watched that?"

"No! But I always wanted to, Santana! This is going to be the Best. Date. Ever." Brittany was so excited that she leaned over the center console to give Santana a kiss on her cheek. Santana grinned like a fool. The date didn't even start yet and Brittany was already considering it the best date ever.

She pulled onto the huge area of the drive-in cinema. They had to wait in line already, but it didn't seem too long because they were singing some more songs while waiting. Santana paid for both of them and found a parking spot with a great view of the huge screen. Santana set the new radio station in her car to have the right sound. Brittany helped Santana to adjust their front seats, so that they could sit and watch the movie in the back seat. When everything was ready, Santana took a box out the back of her car, and set sandwiches, fruit, something to drink, and freshly made popcorn between their seats.

"San?" Santana turned her head while she was placing the box in the front of her car. She hummed in response. "Come over here," Brittany demanded softly. Santana's smile widened instantly as she strolled over to where Brittany's legs hung sideways out of her car. She stepped between Brittany's legs and leaned down. "Thank you, San," Brittany said before she pulled Santana down by the collar of her leather jacket and pushed their lips together.

* * *

><p>AN: I'm so sorry for all these 90's songs, everyone. ;) Haha, I'm just kidding. I'm pretty sure most of you were singing along.

I recently discovered some old songs from my childhood and I always get in a good mood when listening to them, so I decided to use some of them in this chapter. I hope no one wants to stop reading my story after this. :P

I guess nearly all of you knew these songs, but for the few that don't:

Backstreet Boys – Everybody; Sixpence None The Richer – Kiss Me; Backstreet Boys – Larger Than Life

Get ready for some pure fluff next week, my dear readers :D


	12. Angel

A/N: So… here is the next chapter.

As you all know Santana and Brittany are going to watch The Hunger Games on their date so I described some of the scenes. I hope you've all watched the movie yet, otherwise you really should. It's worth it, I promise. :P And for those you didn't watch it, I will insert three dots when the spoiler begins and ends, so that you can just skip the scene. :)

…oh, and the song is called Angel by Jack Johnson.

I hope you all like it.

* * *

><p>Brittany and Santana sat down in the backseats of Santana's car. It would probably take about twenty minutes till the film started, so they began to eat their sandwiches.<p>

"Oh, God. This is so delicious, San," Brittany complimented as she swallowed her first bite. Santana smiled at her before she tried her own sandwich. She put much effort into making the sandwich, so she was happy that Brittany liked it.

"How was your day, San?" Brittany asked, genuinely interested, before she took a sip of her coke.

"It was great. I did my first real viewing of a house today. I've waited forever to do that."

"Wow, that's great. How did it go?" Brittany asked curiously.

"Amazing! The family bought the first house I showed them and it wasn't really cheap… They told me that I did a great job," Santana told Brittany with a grin.

"I'm so happy for you. Hopefully your boss will give you more appointments from now on."

"Haha, I don't think that's going to happen, but I hope so, too. My boss is a perfectionist… and a pain in the ass," Santana added for good measure. Brittany laughed at that. "Her name is Rachel Berry and we went to high school together. I really needed a job after college and I guess I was kinda drunk when I sent my application to her firm."

"Rachel Berry?" Brittany asked thoughtfully. "I've heard that name before somewhere…"

"Really? Mmm, let me see…" Santana tried to think of people Brittany and she could both know, "I don't know maybe you know some of our Glee Club members. You already know Quinn and Puck…"

"Wait!" Brittany seemed to have a sudden idea. "Do you know Tina Cohen-Chang?"

"Yes, I do! She went to high school with us. We were in Glee Club together!" Wow, Santana should really call Tina some day. They kind of lost touch after Santana went to college. She always was a good and supportive friend.

"Wow, how small the world is… Her boyfriend Mike owns the dance studio I'm working at. Mike and I have always been friends and Tina and I instantly got along. She owns her own firm, too, right?"

"Yeah, she inherited the huge home-center on the edge of town from her father, if I remember correctly. At least she can take part in the decision-making." Santana explained.

"Oh, right, she told me something about it. She's really good at what she does apparently. The store is very successful."

"Tina deserves it," Santana said with a slight smile.

"Yeah, she does." Brittany agreed. Silence fell upon them as they finished their sandwiches.

"You want some popcorn? I made it on my own," Santana told her proudly. Brittany nodded quickly before she took the bowl from Santana's hand. It got darker outside with every minute that passed. Santana pulled out some blankets and pillows and put their remaining food away before they made themselves comfortable.

"This is really cool," Brittany said after a minute of silence. They were covered with blankets now and Brittany was eating her popcorn. Well, if you consider shoveling popcorn into your mouth, eating. It caused Santana to giggle beside her. Brittany shot her a questioning look when her hand found her way into the bowl once more.

"Nothing," she quickly said as she shook her head reassuringly, "it's just that I usually wait with eating my popcorn until the movie starts," Santana added.

Brittany shook her, "That doesn't seem like a good plan. I hate it when the noise of me chewing drowns out the movie, so I normally try to eat everything before the film begins." Brittany shrugged and turned her attention to her Coke.

Santana thought about Brittany's explanation, which seemed pretty convincing. "You're right…" she grabbed her own bowl and smiled at Brittany after eating her first bite of her own. Brittany laughed and nodded.

"I'm always right," she giggled.

As their popcorn noticeably decreased, the lights outside were dimmed and the screen started to show advertisements and new trailers. Every once in a while, she could feel Brittany's elbow being pressed lightly against her ribs and the words "let's watch it together" being whispered into her left ear. A smile spread across Santana's face and it felt like her heart stopped beating for a second. Luckily Santana still wore her leather jacket; otherwise Brittany probably could feel her goose bumps that were forming on her skin every time their arms brushed briefly.

When the movie actually started, Brittany was bouncing up and down in her seat, apparently really excited about what will happen now. But after the beginning credits of the movie appeared on screen, Brittany's face fell visibly. It seemed that she hadn't read the books yet and had no idea what the movie was about. Santana made a mental note that she would let Brittany borrow her own trilogy.

...

Santana decided to focus on the movie, even if Brittany's reactions were more fascinating to her. By the time Prim was chosen to be the tribute of District 12, Santana could hear Brittany's breath hitch next to her. And when Katniss volunteered to replace her sister and Prim cried in despair, Brittany brought her hands up to cover her mouth, clearly in shock after the heartbreaking scene by the town hall.

"You alright?" Santana leaned over towards Brittany to check on her. Brittany just nodded rapidly while her gaze was still fixed on the screen.

As soon as the actual Hunger Games started, the suspense was nearly unbearable. All these innocent tributes being killed, slaughtered even, made Brittany miserable and Santana could feel that. She untangled one of Brittany's hands which were clasped together tightly above the blanket, put it between her own and squeezed lightly. Brittany looked at her with sad eyes, but managed to form a genuine smile.

When the time for Ruth's dead arrived, not even Santana could hold her tears at bay. The sound of Brittany letting out a sob had her on the verge of tears instantly. It broke her heart every time the blonde was sad and now that she was crying made her feel worse, because Santana herself brought her here. She stretched her arm out behind her and let it wander around Brittany's shoulders. She pulled her into her left side till Brittany was pressed into her. Brittany pulled her even closer as her left arm found its way around the brunette. Another sob shook through her body, which made Santana plant a light kiss on top of her head.

"It's okay," she whispered, nearly too quietly for Brittany to understand. "It's okay." She could feel Brittany smile against her side.

The rest of the movie went by without any special incidents. Well, except Brittany nearly jumping up when the dogs in the woods appeared out of nowhere. Santana and Brittany both tightened their hold once more.

...

By the end of the movie and with the credits on the screen, both of them didn't move and just stayed lying in each other's arms. They saw the people around them gather their stuff and cars and leave the parking lot, but they stayed like this for a little longer. They both liked the warmth of their bodies and the sound of their slow breathing.

When most cars left already, Santana began to untangle herself from Brittany's grip and laughed at the blonde who didn't want to let her go so soon.

"Come on, Britt, we have to leave. I don't think we are allowed to stay as long as we want," Santana tried to convince Brittany to let her go, even if she didn't want that herself.

"I'm not letting you go, it's so comfy here." Brittany pouted and tightened her grip around Santana's waist. Santana had to come up with a better excuse to leave.

"And what if I tell you that our date isn't over yet and that I have something equally comfy planned for us…" Santana tried to woo her with her offer. Brittany's expression instantly turned curious and she sat up straight.

"More comfy than this?" she asked, intrigued. Santana nodded. "Then let's pack our things and leave, San." She stepped out of the car and began to fold the blankets and laid them on the backseat of Santana's car. "What are you waiting for?" Santana shook her head at the blonde for changing her mind so quickly before she helped her gather their stuff and put the front seats in an upright position. Santana took her seat behind the steering wheel and left the parking lot with a beaming Brittany next to her.

"Let's see what you listen to when you're done with the Backstreet Boys," Brittany giggled and grabbed Santana's iPod after they already drove for a few minutes. She scrolled through the various songs. Most of them were indie songs that Brittany never heard of. She clicked on one of them anyway and let the soft sound of a guitar fill the car. Santana smiled when she recognized the song that Brittany picked.

_I've got an angel__  
><em>_She doesn't wear any wings__  
><em>_She wears a heart that could melt my own__  
><em>_She wears a smile that could make me want to sing__  
><em>_She gives me presents__  
><em>_With her presence alone__  
><em>_She gives me everything I could wish for__  
><em>_She gives me kisses on the lips just for coming home__  
><em>

Santana caught a glimpse of Brittany beside her. She could see her smiling slightly and she looked more beautiful than ever in the passing street lights. Brittany noticed Santana watching her and her smile widened even more. Santana giggled and turned her eyes back to the road. _  
><em>

_She can make angels__  
><em>_I've seen it with my own eyes__  
><em>_You got to be careful when you you've got good love__  
><em>_'Cause them angels will just keep on multiplying__You're so busy changing the world__  
><em>_Just one smile can change all of mine__  
><em>_We share the same soul__  
><em>_Oh oh oh oh oh__  
><em>_We share the same soul__  
><em>_Oh oh oh oh oh__  
><em>_We share the same soul__  
><em>_Oh oh oh oh oh__  
><em>_Oh oh oh oh oh__  
><em>_Mm mm mm mm_

The song ended way too soon but the soft sound of the next slow songs filled the car once again. After a short time just listening, Brittany spoke up first. Santana almost arrived at their destination.

"Do you believe in soul mates, San?" she asked quietly. It took Santana kind of off guard but she quickly thought about it.

"Mmh, I guess I do. But I haven't found mine yet. Do you?"

"Yes, I believe in soul mates. Yes," Brittany answered immediately. Santana didn't want to ask her if she found hers yet, so she silently followed the road that lead to a few parking spots. The space was barely lit and it was completely dark by now. She placed her car in one the spots and opened the door.

"What are we doing here, San?" Brittany asked, a little skeptical. "I would probably think that you're a serial killer, if I didn't trust you that much," Brittany told her when she stepped outside. Santana didn't know if she should take it as a compliment or not, but quickly shrugged it off when she grabbed the blankets and pillows from the backseat.

"Could you maybe take that green box?" she asked Brittany politely. Brittany pointed at one of those boxes and Santana nodded when Brittany took the right one. She thanked her with a smile and waved her over. Brittany followed her, smiling as Santana locked the door of her car. "Let's go. We don't have to walk that far," Santana let Brittany know and lead her to the street. On the opposite site of the parking lot was a seemingly high hill. There were stairs built into it that made it easier to reach the top. As they both climbed up the stairs, Brittany's breath hitched.

"That is so beautiful," Brittany said in awe. She took a few steps forward to get a better look. There was a little meadow where you had a great view over the whole city. Brittany didn't even realize that they drove that far and high to have this breathtaking view over the town. "Oh, God, I didn't even know that our town is so beautiful at night."

Santana already placed the blankets and pillows on the grass and carefully took the box that Brittany was still holding out of her hand. Brittany noticed the self-made bed for the first time and looked at Santana disbelievingly. "I can't believe you're doing this for me."

"Nah, it's no big deal." Santana tried to shrug it off.

"Yes, it is, San." She came closer. "Nobody ever did something that beautiful for me. Ever." She took Santana's hands into her own and pulled her into a hug. She nuzzled her head into the crook of Santana's neck. "Thank you so much," Brittany whispered against her skin which made Santana shiver. Brittany pulled away. "Are you cold?"

"A little bit," Santana lied so that she wouldn't embarrass herself in front of Brittany. Who had to shiver when someone spoke against their neck anyway? Probably only her.

They took a seat on the comfortable blankets and Santana pulled the box towards her. Brittany laughed when she saw Santana pulling out strawberries.

"What's so funny?" Santana wondered.

"Oh, nothing. It just reminds me of the first day we met," Brittany told her, giggling. Santana had tried to never think about that embarrassing moment ever again, but apparently she couldn't. "You were so cute when you blushed."

"You totally ate that strawberry on purpose! You wanted to make me blush," Santana tried to defend her behavior. Brittany had a mischievous grin on her face.

"But you have to be honest. You loved it, didn't you?" Brittany laughed. Santana started blushing again but she was glad that the barely lit area hid that a bit.

"Yes, I did," Santana confessed, looking at the ground. "It was hot."

Brittany didn't know how to respond to that and had tried to tease Santana a little bit, but now she was astonished. "You thought it was hot?" she asked, clearly shocked at Santana's confession.

"Totally," Santana almost responded immediately. "I wanted to kiss you so badly when you did that." Now Santana was making Brittany blush.

"You wanna know when I wanted to kiss you for the first time?" Santana nodded. "When we sat down at that table and you were skimming through the menu. You had been biting your bottom lip... I really wanted to know what your lips felt like."

Santana smiled at the thought. She took out a single strawberry and brought it to Brittany's lips till it was only centimeters away. Brittany grinned and took a small bite, her lips grazing Santana's fingertips slightly. When Santana started to retreat her hand, Brittany shook her head and grabbed Santana's wrist softly. She pulled it back to her lips and extended her tongue slightly before taking another bite. She didn't want to reach any of the green leaves, so she was careful not to take some of them into her mouth.

"Fuck," Santana said involuntary. She didn't intend to say that out loud. Brittany grinned at Santana playfully. "Do you have any idea what you're doing to me?" Santana asked, shaking her head lightly. Brittany nodded while smiling happily.

"I guess I do because you do the same to me." Brittany told her honestly.

"Oh, is that so?" she asked teasingly. Santana grabbed a new strawberry and removed the leaves, throwing them onto the grass. She slowly bit off half of the fruit, causing a drop to roll down her chin. Santana took her left thumb and caught the little bead of moisture before it fell down. Brittany gulped visibly when Santana extended her tongue and licked the drop off of her finger. She took the other half of the strawberry into her mouth and hummed, satisfied.

"Yes, I do," Brittany said bluntly, still a bit dazed. Santana laughed one of her contagious laughs and lay down on the blankets. She took Brittany's hand beside her and drew random patterns on her palm.

"Lay down with me?" Santana asked after a while. Brittany grabbed a blanket and threw it over them before she snuggled into Santana's side. Brittany's head rested on Santana's chest so that she could listen to her consistent heartbeat. They both looked up to the sky. Brittany didn't realize till now how bright the stars looked from up here.

"I haven't seen the stars shining that brightly for a long time," Brittany noticed.

"I know, right? I'm convinced that this is the only place in this town where you're actually able to see the stars." Brittany hummed in response.

"How did you find this place anyway?" Brittany asked curiously.

"I discovered it when I ran away… It was the day I left my parents that letter when I went to school…" A barely audible "Oh" escaped Brittany's lips, but Santana continued nonetheless, "They kicked me out and I needed time to think about what happened so I drove around town, crying the whole time. I stayed here nearly the entire night till I noticed that Sugar tried to contact me. I called her and she picked me up," Santana let out a sigh at the memory.

"Sugar seems like a great person," Brittany said. It made Santana smile that Brittany completely ignored the bad parts and focused on Sugar instead. She really knew how to deal with that risky topic.

"Yeah, she is… She was one of the few people who accepted me completely for who I am. Actually the entire Glee Club did, but Sugar was my best friend back then."

"But now Mercedes is, right?" Santana nodded. "You went to visit her yesterday. You wanted to tell me why you left…" Brittany said, nudging Santana's side with her elbow. Santana giggled.

"Oh right…" Santana grinned. "First of all, I don't know if I was allowed to tell her about us but I did anyway. But I only gushed about you, duh. As if I had something bad to tell…" Brittany's giggling vibrated through both of their bodies. "Anyway, she's a huge blabbermouth and told her boyfriend everything about us. And yesterday he just came up to me in the middle of work asking us to go on a double date with them. I mean who goes on double dates anyway?"

"I would love to go on a double date, San. They aren't that bad…" Brittany mumbled against Santana's side.

"You sound just like Mercedes, Britt! Don't turn your back on me. You're supposed to agree with me," Santana pouted. Brittany noticed the brunette's mood change. She tilted her head to look Santana in the eyes.

"Oh, San. Don't you think that it would be fun…?" Brittany asked with the best puppy dog eyes that she could muster. Brittany kissed her cheek. "Can we go on that date, please?" She placed a little kiss on the corner of Santana's mouth. "Please… For me…" Brittany asked as she swung her left leg over Santana's hip to straddle her. Her lips were just millimeters away from Santana's. Brittany still waited for a response.

"Yes, okay, we can go on…" Santana's answer was cut off by Brittany's lips on hers. Brittany kissed her with all that she had. With all that adoration and sweetness, affection and want. She wanted Santana to feel needed and desirable. She wanted to tell her that she was beautiful in every kind of way. All of that she wanted to say with that kiss.

They kissed comparably shy at first, but then Santana felt something soft and wet grazing her lips. She instantly knew that is was Brittany's tongue asking for entrance, which Santana gladly granted. As their tongues softly caressed each other, it felt like fireworks exploding inside of her. Santana and Brittany were both overwhelmed by the sudden and new sensation that they grinded their hips to search for some kind of friction. They jumped at the realization and Brittany pulled away to give them enough space to breath.

"Wow," Brittany whispered. "I've never made out under the stars at the top of a hill before." Santana laughed and shook her head.

"Me neither. But it was definitely worth a try." Brittany nodded, beaming at her.

"Yes, it was. I would come here every night if I could."

"I will take you with me if I come here again, alright?" Santana suggested and Brittany beamed and agreed instantly.

"I would love that, San," she said as she snuggled into Santana's side once again. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For taking me on the Best. Date. Ever." Santana's cheeks flushed but Brittany didn't notice.

"I'm glad you like it…" Santana said.

"Like it? I LOVE it, San. I love everything about it."

* * *

><p>AN2: Sorry for the second author's note but I want to tell you something.

I'm going on a two-weeks-vacation in about one week and I don't know if I can update the story before I leave. I promise you that I'll really try to get it done but I kind of have a writer's block right now and I hope it goes away soon.

And I made a tumblr: brittanaismyreasontosmile (yeah, very creative, I know :P) So if really takes the story down for whatever reason, I'm going to post the chapters there.

And please leave me a review; maybe they will help me to get inspired again.

Have a wonderful day/night, everyone!


	13. Don't you worry

"Do you want to come upstairs or…?" Brittany asked, unsure as she opened the door of Santana's car outside her flat. Santana didn't know how to answer that. Did Brittany only mean upstairs in like cuddling, watching TV and chatting, or did she mean sex?

"We don't have to do anything, San," Brittany reassured her. Santana was still sure that this woman right there could read her mind. She smiled and nodded before she stepped out off her car and locked it. They walked up the stairs till they reached the third floor. Brittany unlocked her door and grabbed Santana's hand to yank her inside.

"Thank you again," Brittany told her as she led Santana to the couch.

"You're very welcome," she replied before she dropped down on the couch and let her body relax. Their date went surprisingly well. There hadn't been any of those awkward long pauses or uncomfortable moments. And if they stopped talking for a few minutes, it didn't feel weird at all.

"You want something to drink?" Brittany asked with a slightly dimmed voice. Santana hadn't realized that she walked into the kitchen. "I was going to pour me some orange juice, you want some, too?"

"Yep, sounds good," Santana answered. It was past midnight already and she couldn't deal with coffee at that hour. She grinned when Brittany held her glass towards her. She thanked her quickly and Brittany sat down next to her.

"So when is our next date?" Brittany asked curiously. It made Santana nearly spill her drink because she had to suppress a giggle. She gulped the juice and turned towards her.

"You want to do it again?" she asked shyly. Brittany placed her glass on a little mat on her table and crossed her legs on the couch. She took Santana's free hand and placed it in her lap as she drew small circles on Santana's wrists.

"I thought I made that clear when I convinced you to go on that double date," Brittany replied, looking down at their hands. Santana giggled.

"You're right. But I still don't know how I'm supposed to tell Mercedes. She will make my life a living hell…" Santana was already thinking about ways to tell her best friend. She hated when Mercedes got her own way. Santana wasn't prepared for Brittany's reaction. She just couldn't refuse the beautiful blonde anything. And her adorable pout…

Speaking of it, Brittany was using it again, "San, it will be fun. I really want to meet your best friend…" Brittany took Santana's free hand in hers and kissed the back of her hand. "We're still going, right?" she asked with a curious expression.

"Only if you kiss me now," Santana prompted. She was surprised by herself that she asked her that. But she couldn't even think about it before she felt Brittany's lips on hers. Santana was careful not to spill the rest of her orange juice on Brittany's couch. She pulled away after a few moments to quickly place her drink on the table.

When she turned around, Brittany's eyes had changed into a much darker blue. Santana was fascinated by her all over again. "Come over here," Brittany demanded. Santana didn't need to be told twice so she pressed her body flush against the blonde. Brittany was pushed into the cushions of her couch in the process. Santana hovered just above Brittany's lips which made Brittany stretch her neck. But before she could reach Santana's lips, Santana pulled away, smirking at her. Brittany pouted again which made Santana laugh and snatch Brittany's lips in hers. They both moaned as Santana took Brittany's head in her hands and Brittany pulled the brunette closer by clasping her hands behind Santana's neck.

Their kiss turned pretty heated and soon their tongues battled for dominance. Santana was sure that a kiss couldn't be sweeter and hotter at the same time. Brittany was so soft and caring even if she explored every inch of Santana's mouth.

Santana couldn't take it anymore so she moved her hands to touch more of the girl under her. She ran her hands along her ribs and waist till she reached Brittany's hipbones. Her top rode up a little and Santana pushed it up further in the heat of the moment. She touched Brittany's perfect abs, which felt so soft and hard at the same time. She wasn't even realizing what she was doing before she hooked her finger under the underside of Brittany's bra. Her eyes snapped open and she pulled away instantly.

"I'm so sorry," Santana mumbled, trying to untangle herself from Brittany without hurting her. "I, I shouldn't have done…"

"Santana," Brittany tried to calm her down. Santana was already grabbing her purse and was pacing around the room. "Santana," she said again, louder this time.

"I should go. I'm sorry…" Santana apologized again and didn't seem to realize that Brittany stood up in the meantime.

"Please stop!"

Santana was bewildered by Brittany's loud voice. She turned around to see what Brittany wanted. Before she knew it she felt arms being wrapped around her torso. Brittany lay her head on top of Santana's shoulder and snuggled closer, "Don't apologize, San…"

Santana just nodded in response. "But I shouldn't have done that, it's all going too fast…"

"I know," Brittany whispered against her neck. "But it's okay…"

Santana didn't want the hug to end so soon but she had to tell Brittany eye to eye, "Let's take it slow. I don't want to screw this up, okay?"

"Okay."

"I gotta go now. I'll call you after I've talked to Mercedes, alright?" Brittany nodded and leaned forward to peck Santana's lips. She smiled into the kiss and kept on kissing her for a while before reluctantly pulling away.

"Bye, San. Take care," Brittany said when Santana let go of the hand that she had automatically taken when they were kissing.

"Bye, honey."

After Brittany closed the door she dropped down on the couch, rearranging the pillows and grinning from ear to ear. "What an evening…"

*B*S*

When Santana woke up around twelve o'clock the next day, she had a few (many) missed calls. All of them were from Mercedes. She groaned. What a nice way to start the day: A nerve-wracking conversation with her best friend. But the sooner she called her the better, so she would finally be done with it.

"Santana Lopez! Why didn't you call me yesterday?"

"Stop fucking screaming into your phone! I can understand you perfectly, god dammit," Santana replied, pissed off already.

"So I guess it didn't go very well yesterday…" Santana let out a loud laugh before she answered.

"Yes it was terrible," she groaned sarcastically, "so terrible that we spent the entire movie cuddling in the back of my car. So terrible that we went to that little viewing platform and ate strawberries and made out. So terrible that she invited me to come upstairs where we continued what we started on that hill. So yeah, I guess it wasn't a really good first date…" Santana finished with a huge grin on her face.

"Are you kidding me? You went to THE hill with her? She must really be something special if you took her there. You've never taken me there…" Mercedes pouted on the other end of the line.

"Maybe I never took you because I'm not falling for you." Santana was shocked that she said it out loud and she had no intention to tell her best friend yet. But to say it out loud was a great feeling. It felt good to finally admit it. Yeah, she could have waited a bit, she thought, when she heard Mercedes screaming into her speakers.

"YOU ARE WHAT? You've only known her for a few weeks, San. And you're already falling for her?" Santana nodded but figured out shortly after that Mercedes couldn't see her.

"Yes."

"That is the cutest thing ever! I'm so happy for you, hun!" Santana couldn't believe what she had just heard. She thought that Mercedes would be shocked and would find it weird. "I have to meet her… Ask her out! Go on that double date with us," she immediately prompted.

"Actually, she already agreed …" Santana held her phone away from her ear, expecting a loud scream but she could only made out a faint whipping sound that Mercedes made.

"You are so whipped already. Oh. My. God." She started laughing and Santana would have loved to end their conversation right then and there but she knew her best friend. She would most likely stand on her door step a few minutes after. She had to get through it without losing her nerves. "Alright, so when is that date? I think next Saturday would be perfect. Sam and I have the entire day off and we have time to arrange everything. God, this is going to be so good. Maybe we should..."

"Stop it, Cedes!" Santana screamed. "Can I ask Brittany first, please? She will be coming, too, remember?"

"Oh, yeah, right. Text me when you know if Saturday's okay. Talk to you later!" And with that, Mercedes hung up. _Wow, that went better than I expected_, Santana thought. Before she could forget, she quickly texted Brittany and started to prepare herself for a lazy day on the couch.

**Is next Saturday okay for our double date? I hope you have a great day, Britt :) - San**

Maybe she could call Tina today…

*B*S*

Brittany felt her phone vibrating in her pocket as she inspected the beautiful wedding pictures that were spread all over Isabella's kitchen table. She would open the text later, even if she was curious about who was texting her right now. Maybe it was Santana?

"And this is my favorite picture…" Isabella told her. Brittany looked at the photo inquiringly. It was a black and white photo that showed Manuel and Isabella standing in front of the huge church doors. They were looking in each other's eyes adoringly. It was indeed a beautiful picture.

"Wow, that looks great, Bella."

"Mhmm, it does." She outlined the frame of the picture and laid it on top of the recently seen. The pile gained height by the minute and soon they were expecting the pictures of the party.

"I like this one," Brittany told her best friend. She took the picture in her hand. It showed the large table that they were sitting at during the party. It must have been after the buffet because it showed Brittany and Santana sitting next to each other. Santana's head was slightly crooked to the side, clearly listening to Brittany talking. She had a huge smile on her face which showed her adorable dimples. The photo showed a few other guests but Brittany only focused on them.

It made Brittany think about that evening. Isabella and she hadn't talked about what had happened that night, yet and Brittany wasn't sure if she wanted to. Apparently Isabella tried to forget the incident. Brittany still felt a bit guilty for leaving the party so early and not really partying with her friend. But she decided that Santana had needed her more than Isabella had.

They were skimming through the various pictures. Every time a picture of Brittany was held up, Santana was by her side. Brittany sensed that Isabella laid these pictures down faster than the others. She didn't like Santana. Brittany could feel that. It made her more nervous than she actually was before coming over. Her friend hadn't asked her about her date yet and Brittany hoped that she had forgotten it till now.

She let out a relieved sigh when they finally reached the photos of their honeymoon. Isabella looked at her confusedly but continued to show the pictures, explaining what they were doing on that day. It was good to hear what her friend had to tell about their honeymoon. It seemed that they had a lot of fun.

Brittany heard the front door opening and someone placing the key in the bowl by the door. She knew that it was Manuel and, honestly, Brittany had no idea how to behave around him. She didn't really know what happened when Santana got kicked out but she knew that Manuel played a huge role in it.

"Babe, I'm home. Where are you?" his voice rang through their apartment.

"Kitchen," Isabella answered, beaming at her husband who entered the room.

"Oh, hey Brittany," he said surprised. Brittany just smiled at him shortly before turning back to the picture in her hand. She didn't realize that she was still holding the picture of Santana and her talking. She decided that Isabella wouldn't even recognize that that picture was gone so she let it fall into her opened bag.

While Isabella greeted Manuel with a kiss and they started talking about his day, Brittany took the time to check the text she got earlier.

**Is next Saturday okay for our double date? I hope you have a great day, Britt :) - San**

Brittany smiled from ear to ear. She quickly typed a reply before Isabella got back.

**Yep, Saturday's perfect, San! :) And yes, I've had a great day till now, but I have to work at the club tonight and I'm tired. :/ - Britt**

**I'm sorry, honey. I didn't mean to keep you up so late last night… ;) – San**

Brittany bit her lip to keep her from smiling like an idiot.

**Nahh… it's no problem, baby. I don't really care, honestly. ;) – Britt**

**:D – San**

**Why are you smiling? – Britt**

**You called me baby… - San**

Brittany blushed at that. She didn't even realize it herself. It felt natural to call Santana that.

"What are you blushing at, Britt?" Brittany got ripped out of her thoughts by Isabella's question. "Is it your date from yesterday?" Brittany nodded without telling her who exactly she went on a date with. Maybe Isabella would just leave it at that…

"What did you two do?" No, of course she didn't leave it at that. She was way too curious to just drop the topic.

"We went to a drive-in cinema and after that to a viewing platform to watch the city at night…" Brittany only told the important parts on purpose.

"Aww, that's so romantic. Did you kiss?" Brittany nodded shyly. _Not just kiss_, she added in her mind. Isabella clapped enthusiastically. "Uhh…" she teased, "sounds like a good night. When will I meet him, Britt?"

Brittany panicked on the inside. What is she supposed to say now? Is Santana okay with her to tell that they went on a date?

"I'll be right back, okay?" Brittany said quickly before hurrying to the bathroom.

"Brittany!" Isabella's voice rang through the corridor. Brittany locked the door after stepping inside. She sat there motionless on the edge of the bathtub for at least ten minutes, figuring out what to do.

It was probably best just to call Santana…

*B*S*

"Yeah, Berry is still annoying, she didn't change at all, no… Yes, I remember, that was probably the best night during high school… I know, right? – Of course, I would love to come to your birthday… I will," Santana had been talking to Tina for the last ten minutes now and she had to admit that she really missed her friend. After Brittany didn't respond right away she decided to call Tina instead.

Santana heard the familiar three beeps of her phone. She quickly held it away from her ear to look at the screen. One incoming call from Brittany… She should probably take that.

"Tina, I have to hang up. There is someone on the other line. Text me when you know more about your birthday, alright? – Okay, it was nice talking to you again…Bye." She quickly changed the line.

"Hey, Britt, what's up?"

"Can I ask you a question? I need your advice…" Brittany talked quicker than usual and sounded nervous.

"What's wrong, Britt?" Santana asked concerned.

"I'm at Isabella and Manuel's apartment right now and we were looking at the wedding and honeymoon pictures and then you texted me and I smiled and blushed and Isabella realized. I told her that I had a date yesterday but I don't know if I should tell her that I went on a date with you… I wanted to ask you first and…"

"Brittany," Santana stopped Brittany from rambling. "So you're asking me if you can tell your best friend that we went on a date, right?"

"Mhmm," Brittany hummed in response.

"So honey, first of all, you're going to take a deep breath now, okay?" Santana waited till Brittany did what she told her, "And now I'm gonna tell you one thing… She's not my friend, she's yours, alright? So you can tell her if you want. I told my friend, too. But please think about how Isabella could react, okay? She doesn't like me that much so you have to decide if you wanna tell her or not. It's not my decision to make…"

"Okay."

"Okay? So then decide what you're going to do and talk to her."

"I will. Thank you, San."

"You're welcome, baby." Brittany grinned like a child that just got the biggest lollipop in the universe.

"Now I know what you mean, when I called you baby. It feels good…"

"I know, right?" Brittany and Santana both giggled. "So you're fine now?"

"Yes, I am. Thank you,"

"No problem. See you soon, Britt."

"Bye, San."

Brittany hung up, took a few deep breaths and stepped out off the bathroom.

*B*S*

"Everything alright, Brittany?" Isabella hurried towards her friend to check her temperature. "You feeling sick? Do you need water?" Brittany just shook her head "No" and dropped down on the couch. "You were in the bathroom for fifteen minutes. What is it, hun?" Isabella sat down on the table in front of her and took Brittany's hands in hers.

"It's just… I didn't go out with a boy last night." Isabella just stared at her, puzzled and waiting for Brittany to continue. "It wasn't a boy who invited me…" Brittany admitted quietly. The silence from her best friend was killing Brittany. She was afraid how Isabella would react when she told her. "It was a girl…"

"A girl?" Isabella repeated. Brittany couldn't quite make out the expression on Isabella's face. First and foremost she was surprised, but maybe there was also a little nervousness in her voice. But she didn't seem to be disgusted or something like that at all.

"Yes, a girl… You're okay with it?"

"I guess, yeah… It's different, but I already knew that you found girls attractive. It's your choice…"

"Oh, good. You can't imagine how much that means to me. It was seriously the best date I ever went on. It was perfect." Brittany swooned happily. She was feeling better now that she realized that Isabella didn't react that badly.

"I'm glad to hear that, Britt…But I have one question for you…" Brittany nodded. "Do I know her?" Brittany nodded again. "Who is it then?"

Brittany wasn't sure if she should just tell her or to explain first. It took all her strength to tell her. But at the same time she thought about Santana's words. What if Isabella didn't accept their dating? What if she wouldn't be okay with it? Brittany still wasn't sure what Isabella thought about Santana and to what point she was involved with the fact that Santana was kicked out. But she had to tell her eventually.

"It's Santana…"

* * *

><p>AN: As you can see, I got over my little writer's block for now and I was able to update the story before I left. Let me know what you think of that chapter. I'm still not quite sure how it turned out.

Ohh, I nearly forgot… I want to thank all of the anons who review. I can't thank you in private so I'll just do it here! Also thanks to my beta Adi! You're great for helping me :)

Please do me a favor and review. It means a lot! :)


	14. When she comes around

"It's Santana…" Brittany admitted quietly.

Isabella let out a huff, "I should have known…" She shook her head slightly.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Brittany asked, clearly confused. She didn't know why her friend reacted the way she did.

"You spent way too much time with her the last few weeks. You even spent my entire wedding by her side. And you ran after her when she left…" Brittany could hear the anger in her voice. It made her perplexed. Why did it even matter?

"She was hurt, Bella. I ran after her because she left. She left because of your husband…" Brittany got angrier by the second. She continued even when her friend tried to speak, "No, don't you dare deny that. Maria was arguing with San shortly before she left and I know that Manuel had something to do with her leaving… I still don't know what exactly happened but I know enough to realize that you don't like her."

"Whatever," Isabella just replied. Brittany had never been mad at her best friend before, but now she really was angry.

"Whatever?! Isabella, don't you realize that you sound like a bitch right now?" Isabella's jaw dropped, clearly shocked about Brittany's words. She'd never accused her like that before.

"What did you just call me?"

"I didn't mean to say that you're a bitch. But you have to admit that it's pretty ignorant to judge people due their sexuality… You don't judge me, do you?" It took a few moments for Isabella to answer. She clearly thought about her words before she spoke up again.

"I have nothing against gays or lesbians, Brittany. You know that," she spoke softly now.

"Then why are you like that with Santana? She didn't do anything wrong…"

"She isn't good for you, Britt," she explained. Now it was Brittany's turn to let out huff.

"How would you know?! You don't know anything about her! You don't know how she treats me or how she looks at me. So please just stop, okay? You have no right to tell me what's good for me! I'm leaving." Brittany grabbed her bag that was standing beside her chair and went to the door. She saw Manuel exiting the living room. Brittany couldn't handle him right now.

"Brittany, don't leave," she heard Isabella call behind her. Brittany turned around.

"You know what? You can call me when you realize what you did wrong. Seriously, I would have never expected you to be that ignorant. I thought you would be happy for me, but apparently I was wrong." Brittany left and closed the door behind her. When she sat down in her car, she rested her head on the steering wheel and shook her head in confusion. What the hell happened?

*B*S*

It was four days later when Brittany heard the familiar ringing of her phone. Isabella hadn't called yet and Brittany was clearly upset about that. She had thought that her friend would call as soon as possible, admitting her mistake, but she didn't. She hadn't really told Santana about that day either. She didn't want to burden her with it and just told her that she didn't want to talk about it when Santana asked her on Sunday while they were texting.

Brittany just came back from dance class and she went to her bag to take the incoming call. It was her mom.

"Hey Mom, how are you?"

"Hi baby. I'm great. Your father and I are on our way back home from our little vacation this weekend…"

"Really? You haven't told me about it. What did you do?"

"We went to a really cool and modern spa hotel and we were treated so well. Massages, hot tubs and saunas. It was perfect…"

"Mom, don't make me jealous!"

"I'm sorry, baby, but we just had the best time."

"I'm glad you did."

"Are you home?" Brittany creased her eyebrows in confusion.

"Ehmm, yeah, just got back… Why?"

"You will see. Open your door," Kate, Brittany's mother prompted. Brittany practically ran to her door and opened it in haste. When she did, she heard the familiar high and ear-shattering sound that only her mom could make. She and her father Jake were standing on her door step, both with their arms wide open. Brittany let out a little scream herself before she engulfed her parents in a bone-crushing hug.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, mumbling into her mom's shoulder.

"Your flat was on our way and we thought that we should drop by to see our little baby," Brittany's father said as they let go.

"Oh, that's so great. We haven't seen each other for like two months already. I missed you," Brittany said before she planted two kisses on her parent's cheeks.

"We missed you, too, baby. So much." And they hugged again. They were still standing in the corridor and Brittany's neighbor Lou walked by, looking amused.

"Hey, Lou. How's it going?" Brittany asked when he opened his door.

"Great. Just found out that I don't have to work tomorrow, so I think I'll be going out tonight."

"I wish I also didn't have to work this weekend. Have fun, Lou."

"Thanks, Britt. You too! See you around," he smiled as Brittany nodded.

Her parents also beamed at him. He just let out a small laugh and entered his flat.

"Wow, that's a handsome neighbor you have there, Brittany," her mom winked at her, exaggeratory.

"Mom! Please. You know that he's just a friend! Besides, I went out with Santana last Friday, remember?" She beamed at her mom.

"Oh, yeah, right! How did it go?! What did you do?" Kate was already bombarding Brittany with questions which made Jake roll his eyes at his wife. He shook his head slightly which made Brittany giggle.

"Mom, I'm not gonna discus my love life with you in the corridor. Come in first." She waved her parents in and closed the door behind her.

*B*S*

"Santana, your next appointment will be tomorrow at three, so please don't be late. Oh and I'm going to hire a new assistant…" Rachel told Santana in her office. Santana just stared at her, wide eyed.

"Seriously?" she asked, beaming at her boss.

"Yes. Turns out you're a major talent in selling real estates. I was very impressed by your work last Friday and yesterday. You were quite good, actually. So we're going to split up the clients. It will give me more time to practice my singing and to work on my songs for the album my dads and I are working on."

"Thank you, Berry – I mean Rachel. Seriously. It means a lot," Santana said after Rachel's little rant. It still felt weird thanking Rachel but Santana was grateful for this job and Rachel's trust in her. She knew how difficult it was for her boss to admit that someone is as good as her. But seems like she was working on it.

"You're welcome, Santana. You're allowed to go home now."

"Alright. Thanks, see you tomorrow."

Santana hated to admit it but she was glad that she worked at Rachel's firm now. As she took a seat behind the steering wheel, she thought about the time she had more today. Brittany's dance class should be over by now, so Santana decided to visit her at home. She immediately had a smile on her face, thinking about her. She listened to a few songs before she parked her car in one available parking space.

She made her way up the stairs till she reached Brittany's door. She knocked twice and waited. There was a man, probably in his mid-twenties, who exited the door next to Brittany's. He giggled when he saw Santana standing in front of the door.

"You visiting Brittany?" Santana just nodded, confused because the man was speaking to her. "Good luck…" He laughed.

"Why?" Santana asked, curiously. The man laughed again.

"You know that Britt's parents just arrived, right?"

"What?!"

"So you didn't know. They're – let me think… extraordinary. Yep, that's the word I was looking for…"

Santana hadn't even time to digest the newfound information before the door opened. Her heart was beating so fast by now and her palms began to sweat. She just wanted to surprise Brittany after work and now she was going to meet her parents. She didn't even know if they knew about her. What if they were as ignorant as her parents? She couldn't deal with this right now.

"Hello?" said a voice next to her. Santana turned her head to Brittany's door and saw a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. She was dressed in an odd-patterned blouse and jeans. Her face resembled Brittany's very much and she looked really pretty for her age.

"Mom? Did you open the door? I told you I would get it…" Brittany's muffled voice came from inside the flat. She sounded a bit stressed.

"Honey, there is a very beautiful woman standing in front of me…" Brittany's mom said. Santana blushed at the statement. The woman stretched out her hand so that Santana could grab it. "I'm Kate Pierce, Brittany's mother. And you are?"

Santana grabbed Mrs. Pierce's soft hand and shook it firmly. "I'm Santana. It's nice to meet y–"

"You're Santana?!" she shrieked loudly. Santana was pretty sure she looked like a deer caught in the headlights. She even flinched at the sudden reaction. Before she knew it, Mrs. Pierce pulled at her hand and grabbed her shoulders tightly. "It is so nice to meet you. Brittany's told me everything about you. You're even prettier in person…" The blonde pulled her in her arms and Santana didn't know what she should think about that. She saw Brittany coming towards her as her mom hugged her tightly, still swaying from side to side. Brittany laughed at Santana's facial expression and came closer.

"Mom, let her go! You're scaring her…"

"I am not…" Kate replied, pouting like a little child as she pulled away. "Right, Santana? I'm not scaring you, am I?" Santana still looked a bit shocked and even Mrs. Pierce figured out this kind of expression. "Oh God, I'm totally scaring you. I'm sorry, honey." She rubbed Santana's shoulder friendlily.

"Mom, could you just leave for a minute, please?" Kate looked sad but eventually joined Jake in the living room with her head down, like she just got scolded.

"Hey," Brittany greeted shyly, "what are you doing here?" she asked, smiling at Santana.

"I just came back from work and I wanted to surprise you 'cause I thought that you would be home by now," Santana answered. Brittany's smile grew with every second. She took Santana's hands in hers and pulled her towards her. Santana was still tense; Brittany could feel that, even as she was hugging her now. But after a while and with Brittany's arms around her waist, Santana visibly relaxed.

"I missed you," Brittany whispered into her ear which made Santana shiver. Santana, who was resting her head on Brittany's shoulder before, was now looking her straight in the eyes.

"I missed you, too," she repeated and placed a chaste kiss on Brittany's lips. Brittany smiled again as she pressed her lips to the brunette's again with more force.

"I'm so sorry about my mom. She's always like that…" Brittany said while she massaged Santana's left hand with hers.

"Nah, it's no big deal. She just took me a bit off-guard," Santana giggled.

"Yeah, I've figured that out already." They both laughed at Santana's previous reaction.

"Hey, honeys. You coming or what? Stop making out in the hallway when your parents are in the other room," Mrs. Pierce shouted from the living room. Santana blushed which made Brittany giggle.

"Don't worry about it, baby. She's just mocking us. You'll get used to it," Brittany said before she pecked Santana on the lips and yanked her towards the room where her parents were patiently waiting to bombard them with questions.

*B*S*

"Baby, is everything alright?" Santana asked as she approached Brittany from behind. Brittany just put the dishes in the sink and started to clean them when Santana snaked her arms around her waist and laid her head on Brittany's shoulder.

"Yeah, why?"

"You seem a bit tense. And you still haven't told me how it went on Sunday when you talked to Isabella. I'm afraid that it didn't go very well." Santana crossed her arms over Brittany's stomach and snuggled closer. "You know you can tell me everything, right?"

"Yeah, I know. But there's not much to talk about…"

"You sure?" Santana asked, still not really convinced.

"Yeah, everything's okay. It's just a little bit too much with my parents and all. I guess you already figured out that they're kind of…"

"Kind of what, Britt?" Her mom asked from behind them but they could hear her smiling when she asked. Santana instantly pulled away, turned around and rested her back against the counter.

"Ah, it's nothing. Don't worry about it," Brittany said, trying to change the topic. Kate just hummed in response.

"Do you know that you're probably the cutest couple I've ever seen? You're perfect for each other," Kate stated. Santana still couldn't believe that Brittany's mom was so cool about their relationship. She even called them a couple. They only went on one real date and they seemed like a couple nonetheless. Santana's smile grew instantly. Did Kate really think that they were girlfriends already? She figured out that it wasn't that bad to show affection in front of Brittany's parents so Santana quickly grabbed the blonde's hand and squeezed it. Brittany did the same and they both smiled shyly. It was a strange feeling to hold hands in front of Kate but it felt good. It made Santana's heart flutter.

"It's already late, Kate. We should get going, don't you think?" Jake asked as he entered the kitchen. "We should leave our two lovebirds here alone…" he said with a wink.

"But I don't want to leave my baby just yet," Kate pouted. Now Santana knew where Brittany's pout came from. The Pierces probably brought it to perfection over the years. She had to ask Jake someday how to escape that adorable pout without turning into a puddle of mush.

"We can visit them soon. But they need some time alone now, darling…" Kate looked at the ground like a sad puppy but nodded eventually.

"Yeah okay… you're right," she admitted and stepped closer to her daughter before taking her in a bear hug. "I'm going to miss you, baby. It was great to see you again." Santana could hear a sob escaping Kate and immediately felt badly for interrupting their family time earlier. Apparently they didn't see each other that often and with Santana's arrival they didn't have much time to talk.

"I can leave. It's no problem, I could just go home so that you can spend time together," Santana suggested.

"NO," the whole Pierce family shouted at the same time.

"We're leaving now."

"We can visit our daughter anytime."

"I want you to stay, San."

…

They all burst out into laughter at the ridiculousness of the situation. It seemed like everyone wanted Santana to stay. Santana herself wanted it so she guessed that it was settled then.

"Okay, okay. I'll stay." Santana answered, giggling. She loved this family already even after this short two hours.

"Okay, so we should go now." Jake finally said.

And after a long fifteen minutes and countless hugs from Jake and Kate, Brittany and Santana finally closed the door as they shouted their goodbyes one last time. Brittany let out a sigh and both women dropped down on the couch.

"You wanna watch a movie and cuddle?"

"I would love to," Santana answered before kissing Brittany firmly on the lips and snuggling into her side.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: You guys can't imagine how sorry I am. It took me more than two weeks and it's only a short chapter but I wanted to give you something to reward you for your patience. I hope you like the chapter nonetheless. :) **

**I try to update as soon as possible, I promise. Please review and tell me what you think. It makes me write faster. :) **


	15. A hand to hold

"This is exactly the reason why I didn't want Britt to meet you so soon," Santana said, already pissed about her best friend. "Look at all this glitter and lights. We're not in a freakin' night club. It's supposed to be a nice dinner… What is she going to think about you now?"

"She will love me, San," Mercedes just shrugged, still preparing the dinner in her kitchen. Santana was supposed to help her but made nothing but snarky remarks till now.

"No, you're going to scare her away…" Santana turned her gaze from the totally over-decorated living room to Mercedes.

"Oh, come on, San. Let her decide if she likes our dinner or not," she reasoned and went back to chopping the tomatoes. "Could you help me with the lobster, please?"

…

"You're kidding, right?" Santana rolled her eyes. She couldn't believe how her friend totally got caught up in this dinner thing. And once she had an idea, she was going to do everything to let it came true. Mercedes let out a long sigh and handed Santana the whole lobster. She let out a shriek and pushed it away instantly.

"Get it off me! I'm not going to touch that thing!"

"San, don't be a baby about this. It's not going to bite you. Could you just clean it, please?"

"It isn't even cleaned?" Santana shook her head vehemently before Mercedes gave up and put it back on the counter.

"Sam, honey? Could you help me for a second?" Mercedes asked. And as whipped as Sam was, he came jogging into the kitchen a few seconds after. "Could you clean the lobster, please? Santana here is too scared to touch it…" she added for good measure.

"You mean that thing over there?" He pointed to the lobster, skeptically.

"Sam," Mercedes said with a warning voice. Sam slowly walked towards the animal, probably checking if the lobster was still moving, before grabbing it, unconvinced, and starting to wash it. The entire time Santana watched him, laughing whole-heartedly. He looked pretty alarmed and even flinched when Mercedes touched him by accident. Santana earned many death glances from the couple but she didn't care. This was probably the funniest thing she had seen in a long time.

Sam looked genuinely relieved when he finished cleaning the lobster and putting it into the pot on the stove. "Do you still need my help, baby?" he asked. When Mercedes gave him a peck on the lips and shook her head, he left the kitchen.

"You can be happy about having such a brave hero as a boyfriend," Santana said with a whole lot of sarcasm in her voice.

"At least he helped me and didn't just stand there, laughing his ass off, like you did, Miss Know-It-All." She snapped her fingers like she just came from Lima Heights.

Santana giggled again. "You know what? I'm gonna go home now, take a shower and then I'll drive to Brittany's to warn her before she steps into this house. Luckily you have Sam here if you need help. I still don't know why you even asked me to come help you 'cause you knew before that this was not going to happen. " And with that she grabbed her purse, waved at her best friend and left the house.

*B*S*

Brittany could hear the knock on the door when she stood in the bathroom. She was just dressed in a towel and she hoped that it wasn't the postman who had just knocked 'cause that would be awkward. She tiptoed through her flat till she reached the door. She forgot to check the peephole before she pushed down the door handle.

Santana stood there in front of her, wide-eyed. And she was not so subtle in checking her out. Santana's eyes inspected Brittany's cleavage, continued with her stomach till they reached her long legs. Her eyes snapped up again. Both of them were bright red as Brittany grabbed Santana's arm and yanked her inside. Santana stumbled into Brittany ungracefully and involuntarily pushed her against the opposite wall. That was not what either of them expected to happen when they thought about the door opening but they both couldn't complain.

"H–Hey," Brittany stuttered before she felt blood rushing to her cheeks once again.

"Hey, beautiful lady," Santana said in a lowered voice. Was she trying to seduce her? No, that couldn't be possible… Or could it? And before Brittany could think about it, Santana pressed her lips against hers and started to move them gently. The cold of Santana's leather jacket against her bare skin and the warmth of Santana's tongue in her mouth was enough to make a moan escape Brittany's lips. Santana took her arms and put them on each side of Brittany's head and pulled her closer.

Santana felt her breath hitch in her throat when she realized that Brittany was slowly stripping her jacket off of her. Santana smiled into their kiss and it only grew more when Brittany carefully pushed her off of her and grabbed her hand. What was she up to now?

"I didn't expect you to come so soon," she said while guiding them to the bathroom. "I'm not even close to ready," she giggled. Santana didn't know what to think about Brittany leading them into the bathroom. All these inappropriate thought that she once had in the dance studio came back to her mind. But this time they involved a shower and very little clothing.

"I'm not complaining. I'm glad I came earlier, to be honest…" Santana stroked Brittany's arm and could see the goose bumps forming on her skin.

"I thought so…" Brittany said with a wink, "but I don't want to be late and I really need to get ready now." And here was her pout again. Santana just couldn't deny her anything with that pout so she tried to get rid of it by kissing her passionately. Brittany moaned at Santana's dominance as Santana lifted her up the counter. Santana continued kissing down her neck till she reached her pulse point.

"Baby…"

Brittany hoped that Santana didn't notice her embarrassingly-fast heart beat. Santana hummed against her neck in response.

"We can't… we have to leave soon… Fuck…" Santana bit her neck carefully but it made Brittany moan nonetheless. "San…" Santana moved to her earlobe, also biting and licking it gently.

"You really want me to stop?" she breathed into Brittany's ear. The blonde shivered involuntary. She nodded faintly but it didn't make Santana stop placing feather-light kisses all over her face. "Okay, if that's what you want…" Santana said with a trace of sadness in her voice. She sat down on the edge of the bathtub and crossed her legs.

"Babe, don't be mad, please… I don't want you to stop, but I have to get ready…" Brittany moved towards her, took Santana's face in her hands and pushed her lips hard against the brunette's. "We will finish what we started today soon, okay?" she whispered into her mouth. Santana's eyes lit up and she nodded instantly like a lovesick puppy.

"Yeah, okay… I can't wait."

"Me neither."

*B*S*

It was shortly after seven when they arrived at Sam and Mercedes's house. Santana tried to warn Brittany as much as she could about how her friend could be sometimes. But there were way too many things she should warn her about so Santana could just do one thing before knocking on the door. ..

"Good luck, Britt," she told her before a totally ecstatic Mercedes opened the door with a huge grin on her face.

"You must be Brittany. I'm Mercedes," she introduced herself as she pulled her in her arms, "it's so great to finally meet you," she mumbled into her hair before she pulled away.

"The pleasure is all mine, Mercedes," Brittany said friendlily. Santana couldn't really believe what she just saw so she just watched disbelievingly. It seemed like Brittany could deal with every person, even if they just met. She wasn't pissed at all or even surprised that Mercedes had hugged her. It wasn't nearly as awkward as when Santana had hugged Brittany's mom, Kate. Maybe Brittany could even handle Mercedes tonight.

"Come in, Brittany. We're nearly finished with making dinner and I want to introduce you to my boyfriend Sam… I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything…" Mercedes's voice was clearly dimmed when they both entered the house, leaving Santana still standing on the doorstep. She shook her head slightly as she let out a huff.

"San, you coming?" Brittany's sweet voice asked from inside.

"Yes, on my way," she told her before she entered the house, closing the door with her feet.

When Santana passed the kitchen she saw Mercedes preparing dinner. She stopped and glanced at Brittany, already talking enthusiastically with Sam, so Santana decided to stand there for a moment, just watching her.

"Stop staring at her and help me, San," Mercedes demanded after a while. Santana instantly turned her head towards her best friend who just smiled knowingly, "I can't blame you. She's really pretty,"

"Yes, she is… She's beautiful–"

"Who's beautiful?" Brittany's quirky voice behind her asked. Santana turned her head to look at the blonde. How could she get so lucky?

"You."

Brittany smiled lovingly at her and stepped closer. It seemed like everything around started to disappear. Santana snaked her arms around Brittany's waist, placing a light kiss to her shoulder.

"You're beautiful, too," Brittany whispered into her ear, just for Santana to understand. They stood there for a few second till Mercedes cleared her throat.

"As cute as you two might be right now, we really have to start eating now or the food will get cold," Mercedes interrupted, already carrying two bowls in her hands.

It took them about two minutes to set all of the food on the table. Santana sat next to Brittany, opposite from Sam and Mercedes.

"What is that thing? Is that a lobster?" Brittany saw the now perfectly cooked lobster in front of her. Santana had to laugh out loud when she saw Brittany's face. It was a mix of curiosity and uncertainty. "Do I have to eat it?" Santana laughed even louder than before. Mercedes shot Santana a death glare and just shook her head at Brittany, smiling.

"Of course not. I'm not gonna make you eat it if you don't want to," Mercedes said with a trace of sadness in her voice.

"More for me," Sam stated, already fidgeting on his chair, clearly excited about it. Apparently he liked to eat lobster but was a bit skeptical about preparing it. Santana shook her head at Sam, grinning.

She felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. She carefully pulled it out but instantly put it back again. This couldn't be possible. Why now? Why would Manuel call her right now when she had a date with Brittany?

She tried to focus on the conversation between Brittany and Mercedes about her dance lessons but she couldn't when her phone vibrated again. No, Manuel will not ruin her date by calling her the entire evening. Before she went to turn off her phone, Brittany grabbed her hand and interlaced their fingers together.

"Is something wrong, San?" she asked, worried. Santana just faked a smile, not wanting to ruin Brittany's mood by telling her about Manuel. They still hadn't talked about the conversation between Isabella and Brittany. She wanted this evening to be perfect for both of them.

"No, no. Everything's okay," she tried to sound as honest as possible but she knew that it didn't really work. Brittany shot her a questioning look but didn't ask any further. She knew that something was up…

Her phone vibrated again but she couldn't pull it out because Brittany was still holding her hand. She was pretty sure that Brittany could feel that there was an incoming call but she still didn't move her hand. After a while she let go and turned back finishing her plate. Santana quickly turned her phone on mute and started eating, too.

The evening went on without any incidents. They talked animatedly and by the end of dinner, Santana found herself sitting on the couch. She was still way too shocked about Manuel's call. He tried at least three times to call her, if not more. Santana was somehow curious about what he had to say but on the other hand she didn't want to talk to him ever again.

"I'll be right back, okay?" she excused herself with a peck on Brittany's lips before she went to the bathroom. She pulled out her phone. The screen said that there were six missed calls and two unread messages. What the hell did her brother want?

*B*S*

"So, what are your plans for the future?" Mercedes asked, nipping on her glass of wine.

"Uhm, that's a hard question," Brittany said, already thinking of the possibilities, "I want to continue dancing… I have so much fun teaching the kids so I guess if I have enough money, which will probably take very long, I'll maybe open my own studio. I work at a night club to earn some extra money because I don't really get paid for my dancing. But I hope I will someday… Yep, that's probably my biggest dream right now."

"Sounds like you work really hard," Sam said next to her.

"I try," Brittany giggled. The couple just nodded their heads, smiling.

"Brittany, I really want to thank you for taking care of San after the wedding," Mercedes told her honestly.

"It was no problem at all. Everyone would have done that…"

"No, definitely not… You're a really good person for doing this, Brittany. Manuel really hurt her that night," Mercedes told her.

"We never really talked about what happened that night, to be honest. I heard that San and her mom were fighting and that Manuel was also there. But I still don't know why she left, exactly…"

"Manuel kicked her out because he is way too influenced by his mother. She's a homophobic bitch," Mercedes spat. Brittany could hear the anger in her voice. She didn't know about Manuel kicking her out. She had never been so mad at Manuel before. Isabella must have known something, too. Why didn't she do anything? She really didn't like Santana and Brittany wanted to know why.

"Manuel, just tell me what you want!" Brittany could make out Santana's dimmed voice in the bathroom. She seemed to be very angry. And why was she even speaking to her brother?

"I'm just gonna check on her," Brittany excused herself and approached the bathroom. She couldn't hear Santana speaking anymore, so she knocked on the door softly. "San, honey, can I come in?" Brittany waited a few moments till she heard the key shifting and saw the door opening. As she stepped inside, she saw Santana sitting on the floor, propped up against the wall. "Baby, what's wrong?"

"It's just… Fuck." She buried her head in her hands which made her hair fall in front of her face. Brittany rushed to her side and tried to get Santana to look at her.

"Hey, look at me." She put a finger under Santana's chin and moved her head so that their eyes locked. "Tell me what happened," Brittany said. Santana just stared at her with no real emotion in her eyes.

"It's my dad…" _Her dad_? Brittany asked herself. Brittany feared that Santana's dad was equally ignorant as her mom.

"What's wrong with your dad?" There was a long pause but Brittany didn't want to push her any further. So she just waited till Santana's shaking voice broke the silence.

"He died…"

* * *

><p><strong>Opps, cliffhanger. Sorry, guys ;) I just couldn't help myself…<strong>

**Hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. And if you want to make a girl happy, just tell me what you think about the chapter. :) **

**Thank you! You're the best! :) **


	16. I will wait

Brittany brought Santana home directly after she found out what happened. Santana sat motionless during the entire ride. When she dropped down on the couch, Santana pulled out her phone and dialed Manuel's number. She never thought that she would ever do that again but she wanted to know more about what happened.

Brittany still stood at the doorframe while Santana was on the phone. Trying to not interrupt the phone call, she went to the kitchen and started making tea for both of them.

"Stop fucking apologizing. I don't wanna hear that. I just want to know what happened to Dad." Brittany heard Santana's voice getting louder in the living room. She asked herself what relationship Santana and her dad had. Because apparently Santana still kind of cared about him.

Brittany dared to look at what Santana was doing when the other room went silent. Santana sat on the couch, nodding occasionally with her phone pressed to her ear. It seemed that Manuel was explaining the incident and what would happen next.

While Brittany waited for the water to boil, she listened to Santana's voice, "I know… Okay, I will think about it… Yeah… Bye." Santana ended the phone call and joined Brittany in the kitchen. She sat down next to her and just waited for Brittany to say something. At least Brittany felt like she was waiting.

"Do you already know what happened to him?" Brittany asked quietly. She wasn't sure if Santana wanted to talk about it but she tried to get the brunette to speak.

"Yeah… Apparently my mom found him in the bathroom yesterday evening, lying on the ground… He wanted to take a shower and it took him way too long so she decided to check on him. The doctor says that he suffered from cardiac insufficiency. Most patients don't realize that they are affected… My dad's heart was not able to pump blood through his entire body. If the disease is advanced enough it can be possible that he experiences a sudden cardiac arrest which practically means that his heart stops beating completely," Santana's voice broke at the last few words. It seemed like she just now realized that her father was really gone. Brittany moved her chair closer to Santana's and placed her hand into the brunette's shaking one. She pulled Santana into a side hug which made Santana lay her head on the blonde's shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Santana." She searched for the right words to say, "I'm going to do anything to make it better, okay? Just tell me and I'll do it." Brittany felt Santana nod against her shoulder and tighten the grip around her body.

"I have to leave, Britt," she admitted softly.

"You do?" Brittany asked, disbelieving. Why was she supposed to leave?

"Manuel just told me that the funeral is in two days and it seems like my dad included me in his will. A lawyer wants to talk to me…" she explained.

"Oh okay," Brittany stated, a bit lost for words. "I could come with you…" she suggested, "you wouldn't be alone…"

"No, you don't have to do that…" Brittany was a bit disappointed that Santana didn't want her there. "You have two jobs here and it would be too much to ask if you would come with me. My parents live in Ohio. It's like four hours away from here… I gotta do it on my own."

"Okay." Brittany knew that Santana just wanted the best for her but something made her sad that she couldn't be there for her if she needed help. "When do you have to leave?"

"Tomorrow morning, as soon as possible. I have to call Rachel and then I'll pack my bags and leave. I'll be back before you even realized that I left," Santana said with a small smile grazing her lips.

"I know that this is not gonna happen. I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you, too, Britt."

*B*S*

Brittany stayed the night even though Santana assured her that she would be okay. She wanted to be close to her and at least say goodbye before Santana left for an indefinite time.

"Drive safe, San. Call me when you arrived," Brittany said as she leaned against Santana's car. Santana brought her home and now she had to leave to arrive at Lima on time.

"I will, I promise." Santana stepped closer to the blonde before she gently pressed her lips against Brittany's. The latter hummed in response when the tingling feeling in her stomach appeared again. Every time Santana touched or complimented her it felt like there were thousands of butterflies caught inside of her. They both pulled away reluctantly and smiled at each other sadly.

"Bye." Brittany took a few steps away from the car and waved at Santana awkwardly as she stepped into her car.

"Bye."

*B*S*

Santana still was a bit sad that she couldn't see Brittany for such a long time but it was the best when Brittany continued working and not skipped it to accompany her. She could do this alone. At least she thought so.

She was still thinking about the way Manuel told her that the lawyer wanted to see her. Why would her father make her take part in his will? They hadn't talked for three years now. Why would she get something now? It was probably just a misunderstanding.

It took Santana a little over four hours until she recognized the familiar houses and roads of Lima. She would lie if she said that she missed it. Because she didn't miss it at all. She hated everything about this town. She didn't really have any positive memories of Lima, except Sugar. It instantly made her smile, thinking about her. She was just one of a kind. She had never met such a crazy person in her whole life before and that had to mean something because she knew Mercedes Jones and Rachel Berry.

She had to search for a cheap hotel and it took her a while till she found a decent one. When she entered the entrance hall, she couldn't believe who was standing behind the counter.

"No. Fucking. Way… Finn Hudson…"

"Santana Lopez?… How are you doing? I heard about your dad. I'm sorry." Of course he heard it already. It's freakin' Lima, Ohio. Everyone knew about everything in an instant.

"Yeah, thanks. I need a room for about two or three nights, I guess," Santana replied, not wanting to talk about her life with Finn. He never was a great friend to her. Yeah, Santana had to admit that she was a bitch in high school and they only had Glee in common but she never knew what to think about him. She didn't know why exactly…

"Yeah, sure." He looked at her a bit confused but searched for an available room in his computer. As if there wasn't a room left on a Sunday afternoon… "There ya go." He handed Santana the key. "Should I get your bags?"

"No, I got it." She grabbed her bags and walked towards the strange looking elevators. Maybe she should use the stairs…

After she reached the second floor, dragging her suitcase behind her, she took a deep breath. It would have probably been better if Finn had helped her but she wasn't really in the mood to have small talk with him. She entered her room and she had to admit that it didn't look that bad. There was a small desk with a flower on it and a freshly made bed.

When she placed the bags on her bed she instantly took her phone out off her pocket and dialed Brittany's familiar number. It didn't take long till Brittany picked up.

"Hey, San. How was your drive?"

"It was okay, I guess. Boring, as usual. I mostly listened to music…" Santana replied.

"Have you found a hotel yet?" Brittany asked curiously.

"Yeah, I just checked in. And I have to leave in a few 'cause I'm meeting the lawyer in about half an hour… I still don't know what to think about that."

"Do you think your mom will be there, too?" Brittany voice didn't sound so happy anymore and Santana instantly felt guilty for bringing up that topic.

"Yeah, I guess Manuel and maybe Isabella will be there, too," she said.

"Oh…" Brittany just replied. Santana still had no idea how Brittany and Isabella's conversation went. She had no intention to pry. But she was sure that Brittany was hurt. She seemed more depressed than usual.

"Yeah. So I don't really wanna go but I have to."

"Alright. Call me when you talked to them, yeah?"

"Sure. I'll talk to you later. Bye," Santana said.

"Bye." Santana hung up with a sigh and tossed her phone into her purse, ready to go.

*B*S*

"What the fuck is she doing here?" was the first thing Santana heard when she entered the huge courthouse doors. She instantly rolled her eyes at the already unbearable voice of her mother. The first thing she saw was her mom standing at the base of the stairs, dressed in her formal black skirt and blazer. Manuel was standing behind her, laying his hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down.

"Dad included Santana in his will…That's the reason she's here," he explained.

"WHAT?!" Maria shrieked, "Why did he do that? She's not part of this family. We talked about our testament and we both didn't lose a word about her." Santana just tried to ignore her mother but it didn't really work. "I want to talk to the lawyer. That was not what we agreed on. There must be a mistake, right? Right, Manuel?" Maria looked around frantically.

"Mom, calm down," Manuel said as he squeezed her shoulder. It made Santana sick to watch them. Apparently he was still on her side. "Let's just wait for what the lawyer has to say…"

"Lopez?" An older man behind the reception called their name which made all of them turn their heads towards the source of the voice, even Isabella. Right, Santana nearly forgot that she was part of their family, too. "Would you please follow me?"

They nodded their head. The man led them into a smaller room that kind of looked like a conference room. "Mr. Foster will be joining you soon. Please take a seat."

The silence in the room was the worst thing Santana had ever had to experience. It wasn't her mother's hateful stares or Isabella's questioning eyes, it was the dead silence that made her nervous. She would have never thought about being in a room alone with these three people ever again.

Santana let out a relieved sigh when a handsome looking man, probably in his fifties, came in. He was carrying his suit case and put it on the table, smiling at them.

"Hello, everyone. I'm glad that you found your way here today. There are some topics to talk about. I'm Keith Foster. I'm Mr. Lopez's lawyer…"

"Excuse me, Mr. Foster," Maria interrupted him. "May I ask a question before we start?"

"Sure, Mrs. Lopez."

"I was wondering why Mr. Edwards isn't reading out my husband's will. We made our testaments together and Mr. Edwards was our lawyer at that time. And now you're telling me that you are Armando's lawyer…"

"So first of all, I'm really sorry for your loss," he nodded towards everyone. "Mr. Lopez came to me two weeks ago to change his will. I would have never thought that I would be reading it out so soon. Well, he came up to me to make a few changes and…"

"Why would he do that without telling me?!" Maria asked, perplexed. All Santana could do was shake her head at that woman. She should let Mr. Foster speak.

"I really don't know, Miss Lopez. But apparently he wanted to make a few changes without your knowing and he had every right to." Maria just huffed and crossed her arms. It made Santana smile that he had the authority to silence her mom. Mr. Foster saw her smiling in the corner of his eyes and shot Santana a little smirk back. She already liked this man.

"So shall we move on?"

"Yeah, whatever," Maria said, dramatically. "Let's get this over with."

"Alright. So I have three different letters. Mr. Lopez didn't want me to read them out loud. They are supposed to be personal, so I will just give them to you and you can read them somewhere more private if you like. Santana?" He addressed her personally. "Would you mind following me?"

"No." Her answer couldn't have been quicker than that. She was glad to get out of there.

"Okay." Now he turned towards the other three people in the room. "I will leave your letters here so you can read them. We will meet here in about fifteen minutes to discuss your questions."

"Why does she get an extra room?" Maria asked, hateful enough for everyone to notice.

"Because Mr. Lopez asked me to get her an extra room. Now excuse us, please."

Santana couldn't stop the grin that formed on her face. It felt so good to finally have someone who stood up against her mom. It seemed that her dad wanted it that way. It made her rethink their relationship.

"Can I call you Santana?" Mr. Foster asked politely when he closed the door behind them.

"Of course."

"Alright, Santana. Your dad wanted me to give this letter to you. He knew that it would be a bit too much for you so he asked to take you to an extra room if that's okay."

"That is more than okay. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Your dad told me a bit about your family so I kind of guessed that you wanted to get out of there. Of course I didn't imagine him to die so soon. It was only two weeks ago since I last spoke to him."

"Yeah. It was way too early for him to die…" Santana said, head aimed to the ground.

"Your father and I met in college, actually, so he wanted me to be his lawyer when he decided to change his testament."

"Why did he change it anyways?"

"Read it yourself. He tried to explain himself in there," he held the envelope towards Santana, who grabbed it carefully. "I'm gonna leave you alone for a while. I'll get you in ten minutes, yeah?"

"Thank you, Mr. Foster."

"Call me Keith." And with that, he closed the door, leaving Santana standing on her own in the middle of the foreign room. She opened the envelope and pulled out the piece of paper before she began to read:

_My dearest Santana…_

* * *

><p>AN: I'm so, so sorry for the long wait! It was the longest one yet... School started again, so I'm kinda busy right now. I hope you still want to read this and that you're not too disappointed in me for not updating sooner. But life and my little inspiration get in the way sometimes.

Please tell me what you think. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. :)


End file.
